Sustainable ammonia synthesis: Just around the corner?

Li-mediated electrochemical synthesis of ammonia has been put forward as a possible alternative to the Haber-Bosch process, which is harmful to the environment and requires centralized operation. However, it has historically been plagued by low Faradaic efficiency, rate, and current density. In this issue of Joule, Chorkendorff and co-workers present a version of the process that meets certain industrial benchmarks and unveil new insights into the reaction kinetics along the way. Their observations are borne out by a recent study in Nature from MacFarlane and co-workers which also demonstrates extremely high Faradaic efficiency and high rates toward ammonia synthesis.