Published by Todd Bush on January 20, 2026
Shell Ventures, Air Liquide, MOL Switch, and Chevron Technology Ventures back breakthrough poised to deliver 2x cost reduction for global ammonia producers
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ammobia, developer of breakthrough low-cost ammonia production technology, today announced a $7.5 million seed round to scale its Haber-Bosch 2.0 modular plant designs that use advanced materials science and reaction engineering to considerably reduce ammonia production capital expenditures. With the new financing, the team will build a pilot facility to derisk its reactor technology and select a customer cohort for commercial demonstrations.
Ammobia’s funding round, which includes investors such as Shell Ventures, ALIAD (Air Liquide), MOL Switch (Mitsui OSK Lines), and Chevron Technology Ventures, reflects ongoing interest in the potential for innovation in the global ammonia market. As the second most-produced chemical worldwide, ammonia feeds half the world's population through fertilizers and serves as critical feedstock for chemicals and plastics. With emerging applications in maritime shipping, power generation, and energy storage and transport, demand is expected to increase significantly by 2050.
>> In Other News: Capito Says Market Not Yet Ready for Northern Panhandle Hydrogen Hub
However, standard Haber-Bosch production relies on the volatile natural gas supply and requires extreme conditions that favor centralized, capital-intensive facilities. Ammobia’s Haber-Bosch 2.0 leverages novel material science, process design, and commercially available components to improve ammonia’s affordability, transportability, and independence from fossil-fuel-exporting regions, minimizing supply shock exposure and enabling long-term energy resilience.
"The ammonia industry is at an inflection point," said Karen Baert, CEO and Co-founder of Ammobia. "If we want to lower costs and cut emissions in existing ammonia markets while enabling ammonia’s untapped value in energy and maritime fuel, we need production technology designed for where the world is headed, not where it's been. Our approach reimagines a 100-year old process, which helps us deliver lower-cost, more resilient ammonia production regardless of energy source. Ammobia’s technology that solves for economic pressures and supply chain instability also creates a pathway to deep decarbonization, meaning we're positioned to serve both the industry's immediate needs and its long-term transformation."
Ammobia’s proprietary thermochemical synthesis technology brings a suite of advantages to fuel and power sectors, chemical manufacturing, fertilizer producers, and energy storage and transportation ecosystems:
Lower production costs: Proven over 1000s of hours to be able to operate at 10x lower pressure and 150°C lower temperature, Ammobia has demonstrated potential to reduce total synthesis loop costs by up to half. This results in considerably lower production costs overall, enabling economical production at any scale from any energy source.
Supply chain resilience: Modular design and lower capital requirements allow fertilizer producers and energy companies to deploy production closer to end markets, reducing dependence on centralized facilities and volatile global supply chains.
Faster deployment: Standardized plants eliminate the need for custom engineering and multi-billion-dollar construction timelines, allowing ammonia production to scale quickly in diverse geographies where demand exists.
Compatible with renewable energy: Modularity and lower operating pressure enables plants to run efficiently on intermittent renewable power without expensive hydrogen storage, unlocking cost-effective clean ammonia for maritime fuel and power generation.
Accelerated decarbonization: Almost [2% of greenhouse gas emissions] (https://www.iea.org/reports/ammonia-technology-roadmap) (GHGs) come from ammonia production. By delivering low-cost production, Ammobia unlocks decarbonization pathways across four critical industries (agriculture, energy, maritime, and chemicals) with the potential to address up to 5% of global GHGs.
"Ammonia is rapidly emerging as a critical fuel and energy carrier, creating significant new market opportunities," said Tomoaki Ichida, CEO at MOL Switch. "Traditional production has served existing markets well, but meeting this growing demand requires a diversified approach. Ammobia's novel technology enables economical ammonia production at any scale and proximity to demand, essential as these applications mature. For MOL, backing a team with the technical expertise to deliver production at half the conventional capex strengthens our ability to decarbonize shipping."
Ammobia recently added Guido Radaelli, Chief Engineering Officer to its leadership team. Radaelli brings decades of experience in process technology innovation and in the ammonia market. "After 30 years developing and commercializing ammonia technology, I've seen every incremental improvement attempted in this industry," said Radaelli. "What Ammobia has achieved isn't incremental, it's a fundamental shift that changes the economics across the value chain."
This round also added Katapult Ocean, AIR Capital, Alumni Ventures, and Motivate Fund to Ammobia’s cap table, with follow-on capital from existing investors such as Starlight Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Arosa Capital, and Zero Infinity Partners. Ammobia’s investments now total $13.5 million, including dilutive and non-dilutive capital.
For more information about the seed round, or to explore partnerships with Ammobia, reach out to info@ammobia.co, or visit www.ammobia.co.
Ammobia is developing low-cost, modular ammonia production technology, enabling economical production at any scale and from any energy source. The company's breakthrough reactor technology operates at 10x lower pressure and significantly lower temperature than conventional Haber-Bosch processes, reducing production costs by half while maintaining compatibility with global manufacturing standards. Founded in 2023 and headquartered in San Francisco, Ammobia serves the global ammonia industry—a $100 billion market with potential to grow to $400 billion as ammonia expands into clean fuel and energy carrier applications. The company was named a 2025 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and its co-founders were recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry 2024. For more information, visit www.ammobia.co.
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.
Inside This Issue 🌱 Liferaft Announces a 10-Year, 1 Million Carbon Removal Units Offtake Agreement with Microsoft 🏭 ExxonMobil Fires Up Second CCS Hub in Louisiana with NG3 🚢 Powering Global Marit...
Inside This Issue 🍺 AirCapture And Almanac Beer Co. Launch World’s First Commercial Beer Carbonated With Co2 Captured From The Atmosphere With Direct Air Capture 🌱 Boeing Signs Record Carbon Remov...
Inside This Issue 🚢 Viking Announces Float Out of the World's First Hydrogen-Powered Cruise Ship 🏗️ Aker Solutions Wins FEED Contract for CO₂ Terminal in Lithuania 🧪 Woodside Delays Blue Ammonia P...
Supply Agreements Between Topsoe And First Ammonia Not Extended
Topsoe and First Ammonia have worked together since 2022. In 2024, the companies signed supply and service agreements for 100 MW of SOEC electrolyzer modules to be installed in First Ammonia’s gree...
Sungrow Hydrogen Powers Global Green Transition With New Project Shipments Across Three Continents
Sungrow Hydrogen has achieved a major accomplishment in its global engagement with the back-to-back shipment of its flexible green hydrogen systems to Oman, Italy and Brazil—spanning Asia, Europe, ...
Aurora Hydrogen Secures $3 Million Investment From Oldendorff Overseas Investments
Deal Advances Commercialization and Hydrogen Use for Maritime Applications Aurora Hydrogen (“Aurora”), a clean hydrogen technology company developing a modular and scalable microwave-driven methan...
Biomethanol from Shanghai Electric's Taonan project has been successfully bunkered onto the container vessel CMA CGM OSMIUM at Shanghai's Yangshan Port this month. The operation marks the first lar...
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.