JAPAN’S INNOVATIVE CATALYST ENABLESLOCAL PRODUCTION
OF AMMONIA

Ammonia has wide-ranging applications, such as fertilizer or other chemical products, and has been garnering
attention in recent years as a zero-emission fuel. Tsubame BHB has developed a small-scale plant that can synthesize
ammonia at low temperatures, low pressure, and low cost. What innovations is the company eyeing for the future?
As ammonia contains thenitrogen necessary for crops togrow, it is widely used as a raw
material for fertilizers as well asfor other chemical products. Also,
since it does not emit CO2 during

combustion, the material has been
attracting attention in recentyears as a next-generation fuel fordecarbonization.
The production of ammonia
requires a high-temperature, high-Top: Ajinomoto Co., Inc., a Japanese food company and Tsubame BHB
shareholder, made its factory in Kawasaki City available for the installation of
the startup’s pilot plant. In operation since 2019, the plant produces 20 tonsof ammonia a year at a steady pace.
Right: In conjunction with the Ukraine Recovery Conference held inLondon, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry ofForeign Affairs, and the Japan External Trade Organization co-hosted theJapan-Ukraine Public-Private Roundtable, at which a memorandum ofunderstanding (MOU) was signed for the Green Industrial Zone Project in
Bucha, Ukraine. The event, attended by around 120 participants fromJapanese and Ukrainian industries, confirmed the promotion of partnerships
between the public and private sectors as well as between companies fromboth countries.

pressure environment to inducea reaction between nitrogenand hydrogen. That is why massand centralized production atlarge plants has been the norm.
Developing countries that cannot
afford such large-scale facilities
are forced to bear the high cost oftransportation and storage.
If the reaction between nitrogenand hydrogen were to be achieved
at low temperatures and pressure,
however, the resulting downsizingof facilities could enable
the production of ammonia
locally—in developing countries
and elsewhere—in exactly thequantities needed. Tsubame BHBCo., Ltd., a startup spun out of theTokyo Institute of Technology,
has garnered prominence forits new catalyst technology thatrealizes such a goal. Its innovativeelectride catalyst—an article
about which was published in

the Nature Chemistry journal in2012, submitted by HOSONO
Hideo, a professor emeritus at
the university—facilitates thecleavage of the strong bonds
within nitrogen molecules,
thereby paving the way forsynthesizing ammonia at low
temperatures and pressure.
Hosono’sresearch
wasgrounded in his desire to createtechnologies “essential for life.”
Tsubame BHB, founded in2017, inherited that concept
and embraced the mission ofusing creative technologies tosolve human issues related to theenvironment and food. Accordingto Tsubame BHB Representative
Director & CEO NAKAMURA
Koji, “In order to eliminate
the world’s food imbalance,
what’s crucial is to develop small
devices that can easily make therequired amount of ammonia onsite.” The company’s pilot plant,
which can produce 20 tons ofammonia a year, has proven thatthe catalyst is stable, enabling thecompany to move faster toward

In an electride catalyst, electrons act as anions
and behave like scissors to separate tightly boundnitrogen molecules at low temperatures andpressure.

Tsubame BHB Representative
Director & CEO NAKAMURA
Koji (right) and marketer SUDA
Hiromi(left).
Its
first
commercial small-scale ammonia
synthesis
facilityfora
demonstration test of hydrogenand ammonia production in
Kashiwazaki City will begin
operation in August 2025. “Withglobal interest in ammonia
growing, it is critical to stayahead of the curve, so we aredetermined to make a strong casefor commercialization,” says
Nakamura.

commercialization.
Small-scale, on-site production
would also facilitate theproduction of green ammonia
from hydrogen produced byrenewable energy sources. For
example, in Laos—which hasabundant hydropower—Tsubame
BHB has been involved in a project
to investigate the profitability of
locally produced green ammonia
from surplus hydropower for
local consumption with thecooperation of the country’s
Ministry of Energy andMines. “The Lao government
is committed to agriculturaldevelopment to help Laos
graduate from its position as a least
developed country. We would behappy if our technology could
contribute to both productivity
gains and decarbonization,” said
SUDA Hiromi, who is in chargeof the company’s marketingand business development indeveloping countries.
In May of this year, Tsubame
BHB announced its involvementin the Green Industrial Zone
Project in Bucha, Ukraine, whichaims to make hydrogen andammonia from renewable energy
for use in electricity generationand fertilizer production. The
startup is partnering with thePolish hydrogen system designer
Hynfra and the Ukrainian
engineering
firmUTEM.
Tsubame BHB will provide its
ammonia-synthesis technology
to help Ukraine achieve its twingoals of reconstructing after
Russia’s aggression and achieving
energy independence.
The current global output ofammonia is insufficient for it to
be used extensively as fuel, so it isnecessary to expand production
at a low cost. Nakamura says,“We will focus on minimizing
the size of our facilities for onsite production in developing
countries, while at the sametime focusing on developing
highly efficient catalysts thatcan be applied to large-scaleammonia plants, with an eye tofuel applications.” Tsubame BHB
will continue exploring solutions
to this issue affecting all ofhumanity.