Ammobia and Lummus Technology Partner to Bring Lower-Cost Ammonia Production to Global Markets
Ammobia and Lummus Technology have announced an agreement to commercialize Ammobia’s modular ammonia production technology, marking a move to bring a lower-capital-cost approach to ammonia production to commercial projects worldwide. The partnership will combine Ammobia’s proprietary “Haber-Bosch 2.0” synthesis technology with Lummus Technology’s engineering, project execution and global commercialization capabilities, with an initial focus on applications including low-carbon maritime fuel, power generation and energy storage.
Under the agreement, Lummus will license and deploy Ammobia’s ammonia production system as part of its portfolio of energy technologies. The companies said Ammobia’s technology will also complement Lummus’ existing hydrogen solutions, allowing developers to integrate ammonia production with a range of hydrogen production pathways and energy sources.
A key element of the partnership is Ammobia’s capital-efficient synthesis loop, or “synloop,” which is designed around modular ammonia production rather than the very large centralized plants that have traditionally dominated the industry. According to Ammobia, the approach can reduce upfront capital requirements and enable customers to add capacity incrementally, either through new projects or by upgrading existing industrial facilities.
The companies believe this modular approach could make ammonia projects easier to finance and faster to deploy, particularly in markets where developers do not require the scale of a conventional world-scale ammonia plant. Lummus will bring its experience in reactor, process and thermal engineering, along with project delivery capabilities and production guarantees, while Ammobia will remain focused on advancing its core synthesis technology.
“Ammobia changes the economics of producing ammonia from any energy source and does it in modules rather than the world-scale plants that have defined this industry for a century,” said Karen Baert, Co-founder and CEO of Ammobia. She said customers could add capacity through either greenfield projects or upgrades to existing facilities, while the partnership with Lummus would provide the engineering and commercial capabilities needed to deploy the technology internationally.
Another feature of the technology is its flexibility regarding hydrogen feedstocks and energy sources. Ammobia said its synthesis loop can operate with hydrogen produced from different sources, while Lummus’ hydrogen portfolio includes gas reforming and electrolyzer technologies as well as emerging options such as geologic hydrogen and renewable energy. This could allow project developers to design ammonia facilities around locally available or lower-cost energy resources rather than relying on a single production pathway.
The companies also expect standardized modular designs to shorten project development and construction timelines. Medium-scale plants and retrofit applications could provide an alternative to the large, capital-intensive projects that have historically been required to achieve competitive ammonia production economics.
Leon de Bruyn, President and CEO of Lummus Technology, said the agreement adds an important new capability to Lummus’ technology portfolio and could help reduce the cost of ammonia production while supporting emerging applications for the fuel.
The partnership comes as ammonia is increasingly being considered beyond its traditional role in fertilizer production. Ammonia is already a critical component of global agriculture, with the chemical forming the basis of a large share of fertilizers. At the same time, demand is emerging for ammonia as a potential low-carbon fuel for shipping and power generation and as a medium for transporting and storing energy.
The companies cited projections from Grand View Research indicating that global ammonia production could increase by 58% by 2033, driven in part by these emerging applications. For energy markets, ammonia can provide a means of transporting hydrogen or renewable energy over long distances using infrastructure that is already available in many regions.
Maritime transport is another potential growth market. According to the announcement, 441 vessels were either in operation or on order as of June 2026 that were ammonia-ready or ammonia-fueled. As the number of such vessels increases, securing reliable and cost-competitive ammonia supplies is expected to become increasingly important.
Ammobia and Lummus intend to focus their initial commercial development efforts on power generation and maritime fuel. The companies will begin identifying potential projects over the coming months, while Ammobia continues to pursue applications in fertilizer and industrial ammonia production.
The agreement therefore represents a broader attempt to change the economics and scale at which ammonia can be produced. If the modular technology can deliver the lower capital costs, flexibility and deployment times claimed by Ammobia, it could provide developers with another pathway for meeting growing ammonia demand while supporting the expansion of lower-carbon energy applications.
