Powering the clean energy transition with green ammonia

A breakthrough approach to producing clean ammonia is attracting commercial interest for its potential to cut emissions and power a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Ammonia is the second most produced chemical in the world. As the main ingredient in fertiliser, it’s the backbone of global food production. Ammonia is also becoming a promising fuel for shipping, a key driver of low emissions power generation, and one of the most efficient ways to transport hydrogen across the globe.

It’s also one the world’s largest sources of emissions. Every year, ammonia production releases 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As global demand for ammonia grows, so does the environmental challenge.

For nearly a century, ammonia has been produced by combining hydrogen and nitrogen using a high-pressure, high-temperature industrial method that relies on fossil fuels to generate intense amounts of energy.

University of Newcastle researchers have developed a novel way to produce clean ammonia with dramatically lower energy use and no reliance on fossil fuels.

Through their patent-pending process, they’ve built the world’s first air-feeding ammonia reactor that creates ammonia in a single step using only water and air.

The scalable solution can reduce energy consumption, emissions and operating costs while advancing the clean energy sector. The technology can also integrate seamlessly into conventional ammonia reactors or be used in novel reactor designs.

With support from the University’s Integrated Innovation Network and Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, the research team turned their innovation into a commercial venture – Facet Amtech.

The company has moved from the University to a dedicated industrial site, marking its shift from laboratory research to commercial development.

The University spinout is currently developing its first pilot scale demonstration site to support technology validation and serve as a launch pad for accelerating engagement across the energy, shipping, fertiliser and hydrogen sectors. The pilot plant will kick off a staged scale-up path involving larger demonstration sites, with fully commercial plants capable of producing up to 3,000 tonnes of ammonia per day.

Facet Amtech plans to supply its catalyst technology to established ammonia producers to help existing manufacturers adopt a cleaner production process.

Where to from here

Facet Amtech has secured $3.7 million across two funding rounds from Main Sequence and Uniseed to support technology development and scale-up, plus additional funding from the NSW Government.

The company has more than doubled its workforce as it builds the commercial, engineering and development capability needed to scale its first-of-a-kind clean ammonia technology.

Facet Amtech has attracted interest from companies across Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia, with industry partners offering support to test and validate the technology.

More information:

Dr Peter Richardson

P: +61 447 282 266

E: peter.richardson@facetamtech.com

Last updated September 2026

Dr Peter Richardson

We’re providing a clear pathway to simple, sustainable, low-cost ammonia production without reliance on fossil fuels.