Low-Carbon Ammonia Technology: Blue, Green, and Beyond

This fact sheet by RMI outlines low-carbon alternatives to conventional ammonia production, which currently relies on the carbon-intensive Haber-Bosch process and Steam-Methane Reforming, accounting for over 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

• Conventional ammonia production utilizes the Haber-Bosch (HB) process to combine nitrogen and hydrogen, but the hydrogen is typically sourced from natural gas via Steam-Methane Reforming (SMR), a process responsible for more than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Blue ammonia reduces emissions by integrating carbon capture and storage (CCS) with the conventional SMR or autothermal reforming (ATR) processes. While commercial-scale SMR+CCS plants have been demonstrated globally, more than 20 ammonia facilities with CCS integration are currently under development.
• Green ammonia is produced by using renewable electricity to electrolyze water for hydrogen, which is then combined with nitrogen. This method achieves near-zero emissions and is suitable for localized production; one fully renewable electrolysis-based ammonia facility has been deployed in the US.
• Two emerging alternatives to the Haber-Bosch process are electrochemical ammonia and plasma-catalysis ammonia. Electrochemical ammonia uses a single-step nitrogen reduction reaction in an electrochemical cell and is currently in the lab-scale prototyping phase. Plasma-catalysis ammonia uses non-thermal plasma (NTP) reactors for low-temperature, low-pressure synthesis and is moving from lab-scale to pilot-scale projects.

APA

RMI (2025). Low-Carbon Ammonia Technology: Blue, Green, and Beyond. https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-ammonia-technology-blue-green-and-beyond/

Chicago

RMI. Low-Carbon Ammonia Technology: Blue, Green, and Beyond. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-ammonia-technology-blue-green-and-beyond/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Low-Carbon Ammonia Technology: Blue, Green, and Beyond |date=30 January 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-ammonia-technology-blue-green-and-beyond/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025lowcarbon, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Low-Carbon Ammonia Technology: Blue, Green, and Beyond}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-ammonia-technology-blue-green-and-beyond/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }