Ammobia, a startup focused on ammonia production, announced it has refined the century-old Haber-Bosch process, potentially reducing production costs by up to 40%. The company secured $7.5 million in seed funding to scale its technology, according to information shared exclusively with TechCrunch.

The funding round included investments from Air Liquide's venture arm ALIAD, Chevron Technology Ventures, Chiyoda Corporation, MOL Switch, and Shell Ventures. Ammobia aims to leverage the funding to demonstrate the viability of its modified Haber-Bosch process on a larger scale.

The Haber-Bosch process, developed in the early 20th century, is the primary method for producing ammonia, a crucial component of fertilizers. Without it, crop yields would plummet, potentially leading to widespread food shortages. Ammobia's innovation centers on optimizing this established process to achieve greater efficiency and lower costs.

If successful, Ammobia's technology could expand the use of ammonia beyond fertilizer production. Ammonia is being considered as a potential alternative to hydrogen for decarbonizing various industries. Countries like Japan and South Korea are exploring ammonia's role in their industrial and transportation sectors.

One advantage of ammonia over hydrogen is its higher energy density and the existence of a more developed transportation and storage infrastructure. "The big advantage of ammonia is that it's much easier and more cost-effective to transport and store," the company stated. The company believes its advancements could make ammonia a more competitive and practical solution for energy storage and transportation.