10111232Circular, decentralised, on-farm production of low-carbon renewable hydrogen and conversion into ammonia fertiliserClosedMissionsInnovate UKAmmonia is the second most commonly produced industrial chemical worldwide, reaching an estimated global production of 176 megatonnes/year (2022). Approximately 80% of ammonia is used for fertiliser production, playing a critical role in increasing agricultural output and supporting the growing global population. Ammonia based fertilisers support approximately half of the global population's food. Globally, 95% of ammonia is produced via the 110-year-old Haber-Bosch process, which reacts nitrogen and hydrogen over fused-iron catalysts under high-temperature (?400 degC), high-pressure (?200 bar) conditions. However, the Haber-Bosch process is highly resource inefficient and energy intensive, consuming approximately 2% of the global energy budget and contributing around 1.8% of direct global carbon dioxide emissions (c.500 megatonnes/year). Production of hydrogen gas is responsible for 90% of the emissions associated with ammonia production, with 99% of hydrogen currently produced from fossil fuels (grey hydrogen). With demand for ammonia projected to rise nearly 40% by 2050, largely driven by fertiliser requirements, business-as-usual ammonia production is incompatible with global net-zero targets. Moreover, the requirement for large-scale, capital-intensive equipment (resulting from high-temperature, high-pressure conditions) and "always-on" operation (resulting from 30-40 hour induction time required for catalyst activation) prohibits flexible ammonia production capacity and/or full adaptivity as would be required if generating green hydrogen using renewables and electrolyser technology. In addition, China and Russia are major global ammonia producers, responsible for 29% and 10% of production, respectively. Ammonia export and import bans triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war have fueled supply shortages and historically elevated ammonia prices, reaching £1,319/tonne, exacerbated by rising natural gas prices, creating serious global supply chain vulnerabilities. The UK and Australia both rely heavily on imports to meet their national fertiliser demands. At a farm level, fertiliser is responsible for up to 12% of arable crop farm input costs and farmers are highly vulnerable to fertiliser price and supply volatility. Nitrogen fertiliser production and application also accounts for 60-70% of a farm's total greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, arable crop farmers create a significant amount of waste biomass. This biomass is normally burned but it can provide renewable raw material for the bioeconomy. Nium and HydGene will combine their proprietary and patent-pending catalytic technologies to develop a circular, decentralised, on-farm process for production of low-carbon renewable hydrogen from waste straw and conversion into green ammonia fertiliser, creating an innovative local solution to a global and regional challenge, aligned with UK and Australia's hydrogen and net-zero strategies.