Nanospike electrodes offer cheap, clean route to ammonia

A new electrochemical process could cut the carbon footprint and start-up costs of producing ammonia. The researchers working on the project hope that it could one day offer people in developing countries cheap, environmentally friendly fertilisers. Ammonia is an essential fertiliser ingredient, with more than 145 million tonnes made around the world each year. It is produced by the Haber–Bosch process – a method developed over 100 years ago that now consumes between 3–5% of the world’s natural gas. Ammonia production facilities are also enormously expensive, with upfront costs easily running into hundreds of millions of pounds.