Green ammonia production could contribute to decarbonization and the decentralization of fertilizer production, but it brings critical challenges and risks. Assessing and addressing these challenges in real time will help advance technology and avoid unintended consequences.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Green ammonia presents an opportunity to advance energy and food system sustainability in India
Communications Sustainability Open Access 15 January 2026
-
A blueprint for designing the next-generation of synthetic C1 microbes
Nature Communications Open Access 03 October 2025
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAOSTAT Statistical Database: Cropland Nutrient Balance https://faostat.fao.org/internal/en/#data/ESB (FAO, accessed 15 November 2024).
Gruber, N. & Galloway, J. N. An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature 451, 293–296 (2008).
Zhang, X. et al. Nitrogen management during decarbonization. Nat. Rev. Earth Environ. 5, 717–731 (2024).
Wolfram, P., Kyle, P., Zhang, X., Gkantonas, S. & Smith, S. Using ammonia as a shipping fuel could disturb the nitrogen cycle. Nat. Energy 7, 1112–1114 (2022).
Rouwenhorst, K. H. R., Travis, A. S. & Lefferts, L. 1921–2021: a century of renewable ammonia synthesis. Sustain. Chem. 3, 149–171 (2022).
Tonelli, D., Rosa, L., Gabrielli, P., Parente, A. & Contino, F. Cost-competitive decentralized ammonia fertilizer production can increase food security. Nat. Food 5, 469–479 (2024).
Nowatzki, J. Anhydrous ammonia: managing the risks. North Dakota State University https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/anhydrous-ammonia-managing-risks (2021).
Alfian, M. & Purwanto, W. W. Multi‐objective optimization of green urea production. Energy Sci. Eng. 7, 292–304 (2019).
Robertson, G. P. et al. Nitrogen–climate interactions in US agriculture. Biogeochemistry 114, 41–70 (2013).
Bertagni, M. B. et al. Minimizing the impacts of the ammonia economy on the nitrogen cycle and climate. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2311728120 (2023).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Global Nitrogen Innovation Center for Clean Energy and the Environment (NICCEE), which is jointly funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) under award no. 2330502, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC-CRSNG) under award no. ALLRP 585018 - 23, UK Research and Innovation–Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UKRI-EPSRC) under award no. EP/Y025776/1. The authors thank N. Caceres for his contributions in data collection.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Garvey, S.M., Davidson, E.A., Wagner-Riddle, C. et al. Emerging opportunities and research questions for green ammonia adoption in agriculture and beyond. Nat. Rev. Clean Technol. 1, 10–11 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44359-024-00012-2
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44359-024-00012-2
This article is cited by
-
Green ammonia presents an opportunity to advance energy and food system sustainability in India
Communications Sustainability (2026)
-
A blueprint for designing the next-generation of synthetic C1 microbes
Nature Communications (2025)
