High Rate Ammonia Synthesis by Intermediate Temperature Solid-State Alkaline Electrolyzer (ITSAE)

Ammonia is not only one of the most produced chemicals worldwide for fertilizer, but also a real carbon-neutral liquid fuel (CNLF), which is important for renewable energy storage and transportation. The well-known traditional Haber-Bosch (HB) process annually generates more than 120 million metric tons of ammonia for fertilizer, with about ~1.0% of the world’s annual energy consumption and ~3.0% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Electrochemical process has the potential to substantially reduce the energy input (>20%), simplify the reactor design and reduce the complexity and cost of balance of plant. In addition, a successful electrolytic ammonia process would enable a new network for renewable energy storage-transportation-application, based on networks of distributed-scale, near-point-of-use production plants. However, the current ammonia electrosynthesis rates are generally very low and at the range of 10-13~10-8 molNH3cm-2s- 1 in various electrochemical cells. Storagenergy Technologies, Inc., Iowa State University, and Pennsylvania State University will team together to develop a game-changing intermediate temperature (150-250oC) solid-state electrolyzer (ITSE) for high-rate ammonia production from nitrogen or air and steam electrolysis at low pressure range of 0-10 atm. The high performance ITSE will integrate our innovative, cost-effective and highly ionic conducting membrane, novel nanostructured cost-effective cathode catalyst, and amorphous noble metal-free nanoparticle oxygen evolution reaction (OER) anode catalyst. If successful, this novel ammonia electrolysis process would not only enable a new nitrogen fertilizer industry, but also enable efficient conversion of renew ble energy into energy-dense CNLF that can be easily stored, transported,and applied/utilized.