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A 2026 process-modeling study reports more than 15% lower electricity consumption for a Haber–Bosch synthesis loop by changing how ammonia is separated from the process stream. The proposed design uses concentrated aqueous phosphoric acid at lower pressure instead of deep refrigeration in a 120-bar reference loop. The result applies to the modeled synthesis loop—not the electricity use or total energy demand of an entire ammonia plant—and it has not been established here as a result from a commercial installation.
What the design changes
Haber–Bosch plants make ammonia by reacting nitrogen and hydrogen. The synthesis loop circulates unreacted gases and separates the ammonia product so the remaining gases can be reused. In the reference case studied by Mohammad Reza Malekli and Ali Khosravi, that loop operates at 120 bar and uses deep refrigeration to condense ammonia.
The alternative modeled by the authors absorbs ammonia from the synthesis stream into concentrated aqueous phosphoric acid (H3PO4). Instead of relying on the same refrigeration-based separation, the design heats the acid to release the ammonia for recovery. This shifts part of the separation burden from refrigeration to heat-driven regeneration and allows the modeled loop to operate at lower pressure.
Operating conditions in the model
The model reports 99.9% ammonia removal in the absorber at 60 bar and approximately 40 °C. It models regeneration at 170–215 °C. These are modeled process conditions and performance figures, not reported measurements from a commercial plant.
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What the “more than 15%” saving means
Malekli and Khosravi’s 2026 study reports that the phosphoric-acid configuration uses more than 15% less electricity in the synthesis loop than its 120-bar reference case. The comparison concerns loop electricity, including the impact of the alternative separation arrangement. It does not establish a 15% reduction in electricity for the full plant, or a 15% reduction in all energy inputs.
The study assesses a power-to-ammonia system producing 70.57 tonnes of ammonia per day. That production rate describes the modeled case; it should not be read as evidence that the design has achieved that output in an operating facility.
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How regeneration heat affects the result
Absorption avoids the reference case’s deep refrigeration, but recovering ammonia from the acid requires heat. For the modeled design, the regeneration duty is 4.1 MW. The authors’ pinch analysis estimates that about 4 MW of this duty could be supplied by internal waste heat. The analysis also estimates that 7.3 MW of electrolyzer waste heat could remain available for potential district-heating export.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →These heat figures are design-analysis estimates, not measured plant performance. Their practical value depends on whether the heat streams are available at suitable temperatures and times, and on how the process is integrated with the rest of a particular plant. The model’s heat integration is therefore part of the proposed configuration, not a guaranteed benefit of phosphoric-acid separation in every installation.
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How this compares with other published energy figures
Ammonia energy figures use different boundaries. A whole-production energy requirement, a modeled full-plant electricity figure, and synthesis-loop electricity are not interchangeable. The following values provide context, but none is a like-for-like baseline for the study’s more-than-15% loop-electricity result.
| Published figure | Boundary and source |
|---|---|
| 27.4–31.8 GJ per tonne of NH3 | Current best-available-technology energy requirements for conventional ammonia production, as reported in a 2020 Royal Society of Chemistry review. |
| 28–30 MJ per kg of ammonia | Energy requirements for contemporary ammonia processes, as reported in an October 2024 review. This is a process-energy figure, not synthesis-loop electricity. |
| 8.14 kWh per kg of NH3 | Overall energy figure for a modeled offshore SOEC–Haber–Bosch plant in a 2026 study; it includes electrolysis and other plant loads. |
| 4.2 GJ per tonne of NH3 | A potential synthesis-loop improvement for electrically driven Haber–Bosch described in the 2020 Royal Society of Chemistry review. This is a separate route and estimate, not a result from the phosphoric-acid study. |
Because the studies use different process boundaries and energy measures, subtracting one figure from another—or applying the 15% percentage to a full-plant value—would give a misleading comparison.
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Is the configuration already in commercial use?
The 2026 phosphoric-acid result is a process-modeling study. The University of Southern Denmark research record and the cited study information do not establish that this exact configuration is operating in a commercial plant. The European Commission Joint Research Centre’s July 2026 report says first-of-a-kind plants using electrified Haber–Bosch routes are operational, but that broader deployment statement does not verify operation of the phosphoric-acid separation design.
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Why the wider power-to-ammonia challenge remains
Reducing the synthesis loop’s electricity demand may help a plant, but it does not remove the system-level challenge of running a continuous chemical process on variable renewable power. The Joint Research Centre identifies the mismatch between intermittent renewable supply and a continuous Haber–Bosch loop as a major barrier to electrification. It also points to system integration, financing and policy support as part of the wider deployment challenge.
Scale matters too. A 2024 process review notes that smaller ammonia plants can consume more energy per unit of product and have higher unit investment costs than large facilities. A decentralized plant is therefore not automatically more efficient simply because it is closer to renewable electricity or heat sources.
What to look for in future comparisons
To judge this design against another ammonia-production option, compare the same boundaries and operating assumptions. Useful questions include:
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- Does the figure cover the synthesis loop alone or the full plant, including hydrogen production?
- Does it measure electricity, heat, or combined energy?
- What synthesis pressure and separation method are assumed?
- Where does regeneration heat come from, and is heat integration included?
- What plant scale and production rate are modeled?
- Is the evidence from a simulation, a pilot, or a commercial installation?
- Are feedstock and carbon-intensity assumptions matched?
Without those details, a percentage saving can sound larger or more general than the result supports.
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