UT Coordinates €20.3M Research Into Green Nitrogen Chemistry

The University of Twente coordinates HyNITROGEN, WP5 of the GroenvermogenNL programme on Green Nitrogen Chemistry. This new research consortium brings together more than 40 companies, universities and research institutes. Together, they have received €20.3M in subsidy to develop green production routes for ammonia and other nitrogen-based chemicals. The funding comes from NWO as part of the National Growth Fund programme GroenvermogenNL. These funds were unlocked thanks to the strong support from the industrial partners, who have committed an additional €6M in co-funding for this initiative.

Nitrogen-based chemicals are everywhere: in fertilisers, medicines, refrigerants, and plastics. But almost all of them are made using natural gas. Fertiliser production alone accounts for a large fraction of Netherlands' total gas demand. Switching to green hydrogen and renewable electricity would significantly cut CO₂ emissions. It would also reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. As energy security becomes increasingly important, that matters more than ever.

A century-old process, a new set of tools
Jimmy Faria Albanese, main applicant and coordinator of HyNITROGEN, says: "Nitrogen fertilisers feed almost half the world's population, but producing them consumes vast amounts of natural gas. With this consortium, we will have the critical mass, the partners, and the range of technologies needed to bring us closer to scalable processes for green ammonia production and nitrogen recovery and reutilisation. ”

The dominant production method for ammonia is the Haber-Bosch process. This process is one of the most important technologies developed by humanity. It enables the conversion of nitrogen from air into reactive nitrogen that can be used as fertiliser to increase crops yield. It has existed for over a century and has barely changed. The process works by reacting nitrogen from the air with hydrogen from natural gas, at high temperatures and pressures.

What HyNITROGEN will build
This process is highly optimised, but when coupled to green electricity or renewable hydrogen important stability challenges arise. Similarly, electrocatalysis and plasma-based processes offer fundamentally different routes to generate ammonia using green electrons, but relatively low energy efficiencies have limited the scale-up of these processes. HyNITROGEN aims to overcome these barriers and transform green nitrogen chemistry from a promising concept into a scalable technology.

The consortium develops energy-efficient, low-carbon technologies and scales them up from laboratory scale to pilots. It works on green ammonia based on renewable electricity, green hydrogen and nitrogen from the air. At the same time, it develops technologies to recover nitrogen from wastewater. This turns an environmental problem into a raw material for circular agriculture and clean water. New catalysts, electrocatalytic processes, plasma routes and improved separation techniques bring this approach closer to market.

Strengthening the Dutch economy and training the next generation
HyNITROGEN brings together Dutch and European industry, SMEs and knowledge institutes to build the technology base for a chemical sector that stays competitive in a sustainable future. New technologies from the project will strengthen the Netherlands' long-term earning capacity by translating knowledge into commercially attractive technologies. The Netherlands already holds a strong position in the chemical industry and in wastewater technology. HyNITROGEN builds on that further.

All of this will happen as we train the next generation of technical staff, engineers, and scientists that will spearhead the energy transition. Students and researchers at universities of applied sciences and research universities across the Netherlands are trained in both current industrial practices and the new approaches that HyNITROGEN is developing. Stakeholders from industry and society will be involved in the project from the start to map out benefits, risks and impacts. This builds public support for the transition to sustainable chemistry.