Work

Farm-Scale Electrochemical Ammonia: A Costed Design and Its Failure at Small Scale

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: A farm-scale electrochemical ammonia unit (air, water and electricity in; ammonia out) is designed at 2.0 kg N per day and priced honestly against Haber-Bosch fertiliser. The design fails its own arithmetic: 40.2 kWh per kg N against 11.15 kWh per kg N for Haber-Bosch, $45,865 capital, and a levelised cost of $16.30 per kg N even with free electricity - 8.8 times the delivered remote fertiliser price - with a negative break-even electricity price. All figures are simulated, not measured, and are reproduced by the deposited computation script.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.24108470

Author: Aldred, William Alexander

Language: English

Topic: Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction

Subfield: Catalysis

Field: Chemical Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7225737353

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