Global ammonia production 2023, by country

China is the world’s leading producer of ammonia. In 2023, the production of ammonia in the Asian country was estimated at around 43 million metric tons of contained nitrogen. This was followed by Russia, the United States, and India, each having produced an estimated 14 million metric tons that year.

Ammonia’s environmental footprint

Ammonia production is a major source of environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The global production of ammonia was estimated to have amounted to a total of 150 million metric tons in 2023. The main industrial process for ammonia synthesis, the Haber-Bosch process, consumes a large amount of energy and emits carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, both of which are potent greenhouse gases. Therefore, both improving energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of ammonia production constitute important challenges for the ammonia industry and the environment.

What is green ammonia?

Green ammonia is a term used to describe ammonia that is produced from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, or hydro power, and without emitting carbon dioxide. Green ammonia can be produced by using water electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and then combining this hydrogen with nitrogen from the air in the Haber-Bosch process. In 2021, the green ammonia market generated revenue of some 16.8 million U.S. dollars worldwide, and over the next decade, this market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 90.4 percent, reaching approximately 4.8 billion dollars by 2030. Solid oxide electrolysis was the main technology for green ammonia production in 2021, with a revenue of 7.1 million U.S. dollars worldwide. Alkaline water electrolysis is expected to become the largest segment by 2025 however, with a forecast revenue of 65.4 million dollars.