Recent Advances and Challenges of Electrocatalytic N 2 Reduction to Ammonia

Global ammonia production reached 175 million metric tons in 2016, 90% of which is produced from high purity N2 and H2 gases at high temperatures and pressures via the Haber–Bosch process. Reliance on natural gas for H2 production results in large energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Concerns of human-induced climate change are spurring an international scientific effort to explore new approaches to ammonia production and reduce its carbon footprint. Electrocatalytic N2 reduction to ammonia is an attractive alternative that can potentially enable ammonia synthesis under milder conditions in small-scale, distributed, and on-site electrolysis cells powered by renewable electricity generated from solar or wind…

• CA
  Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Award: DE-SC0016604