The transformative
potential of the
technology was
recently recognised
when Jupiter Ionics
was named as one of
the Top 25 Deep Tech
start-ups for 2022.

Monash University and
Jupiter Ionics seek to turn
ammonia green
Inspire November 2022
Ammonia (NH 3 ) is a commodity chemical essential to human civilization.

Ammonia-based fertilizers are necessary to produce sufficient food for the
world’s population, and ammonia may also play a future role in replacing
fossil fuels as a carbon-free fuel or carrier of renewable energy. However,
almost all ammonia is still produced as it has been for over a century:
by catalytically reacting nitrogen (N 2 ) and hydrogen (H 2 ) gases at high
temperatures and pressures in the Haber-Bosch process. Due to the extreme
reaction conditions and use of fossil fuel-derived H 2 , ammonia production
is currently responsible for about 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

10 What if there was a way to produce
ammonia without these serious
problems? This is the challenge that
Monash University and its spin-out
company Jupiter Ionics are tackling
head-on. The goal is to produce
green ammonia by electrochemical
reduction of N 2 , using water as
the source of hydrogen atoms
and renewable (e.g. solar)
electricity to power the electrolytic
process. This has previously been
considered extremely challenging
to do efficiently: N 2 is a very
inert molecule and most of the
electrical current is misdirected to
producing H 2 and other unwanted
by-products rather than ammonia.

In a recent paper in Nature,
the Monash research team lead
by Prof Douglas MacFarlane and
Dr Alexandr Simonov have shown
that near-quantitative current-to-
ammonia efficiencies are indeed
possible in a lithium-mediated
electrochemical ammonia synthesis
– provided that the right electrolyte
system is used. By using fluorinated
lithium salts more commonly
found in battery electrolytes, the
Monash team was able to control
the properties of the electrode-
electrolyte interface and suppress
undesirable side-reactions.

Ammonia could thus be produced
continuously, selectively and at
excellent reaction rates over multiple
days in a simple electrolytic cell.

The commercialisation of this green
ammonia technology – initially
for sustainable on-farm fertilizer
production – is being led by Jupiter
Ionics in collaboration with partners
such as Fortescue Future Industries
and Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy
and Fertilizers. The transformative
potential of the technology was
recently recognised when Jupiter
Ionics was named by Germany’s
Falling Walls Foundation as one
of the Top 25 Deep Tech start-
ups for 2022. We look forward
to further successes from the
Monash and Jupiter teams as
they seek to reimagine ammonia
production for a sustainable future.

POF is proud to work with
Monash University and Jupiter
Ionics to protect green ammonia-
related intellectual property.

Matthew Overett | Senior Associate
BSc (Hons), PhD Chem, MIP
matthew.overett@pof.com.au