SBIR-STTR Award

Logistical shortages of ammonia, coupled with the high cost of new manufacturing plants, >$2BB, leads to lower agricultural output and lost revenue. The current Haber-Bosch process is also energy intensive and consumes ~1% of the total world energy output. Fulcrum Biosciences, FBS, with the University of Utah as subcontractor will develop a bio-electrochemical process that converts air into ammonia using an advanced nitrogenase enzyme. This process uses much less energy and cheaper plants. This project will focus on developing the process for commercial use by improving reaction rates and the enzyme activity and lifetime. This technology will generate ammonia from air at room temperature and pressure using alternative energy. Ammonia is used in fertilizer and as a commodity chemical. The mild conditions of this process enable low-cost, small-scale distributed production. This technology will also allow increased agricultural growth by alleviating logistical shortfalls in fertilizer and lower energy consumption.

Ammonia is a critical component of the US economy as US agricultural exports exceeded $100BB in 2015 and depend heavily on ammonia fertilizers. Ammonia production consumes 1% of the world’s total energy supply and millions of tons are imported each year. An innovative bioelectrocatalyzed process is being developed using immobilized mutated nitrogenase enzymes to directly convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia at standard conditions, 25° C and 1 atm, and without the need for natural gas. This technology utilizes an enhanced enzyme and advanced enzyme immobilization method for increased production efficiency. The Phase I project developed a new enzyme and polymer support structure which enables direct conversion of nitrogen to ammonia under mild conditions without the need for added chemicals; only electricity and water are required. The system exhibited significantly higher efficiency than competing technologies. The Phase II project will develop a commercial process for the enzyme/polymer system. This will include scaling up production of the enzyme and determining process conditions for maximum productivity. This technology is intended for the commercial fertilizer industry, which currently uses large, expensive plants for centralized production, consuming vast amounts of natural gas and generating significant CO2 pollution. This technology could also be used to generate alternative ammonia-based fuel and ammonia- based commodity chemicals. The Federal Government would benefit from this technology by reducing dependence on foreign imports, and increasing domestic production of a commodity chemical. Ammonia is used as key component in explosives and propellants and is essential for national security. Distributed production will lower the vulnerability of this resource. The key benefit for the customer is lower capital and operating cost. Building new ammonia production plants cost >$2BB with considerable infrastructure costs to ship the ammonia. The primary method of transportation is pipe to truck distribution, although some is still carried via railway. The feature that set our technology apart from the current Haber-Bosch process is the ability for low-cost distributed production.