This Unexpected Use of Uranium Could Change Farming Forever
For over a century, humanity has depended on the Haber-Bosch process to turn nitrogen from the air into ammonia, the key ingredient in fertilizers that feed nearly half the world’s population. But this industrial marvel comes at a massive cost: it consumes around 2% of the world’s energy and emits hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide every year.
Now, a surprising breakthrough from Switzerland’s EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) could change that, using an element most people associate with nuclear reactors: uranium.
In a new study, scientists at EPFL have engineered a uranium-based catalyst that converts nitrogen gas (N₂) into ammonia (NH₃) in a completely novel way. This catalyst uses an unprecedented binding mode to hold and activate nitrogen, an approach researchers say could lead to cleaner, more energy-efficient fertilizer production.
“It’s an entirely different chemistry from what we see in industrial processes,” says Professor Marinella Mazzanti, senior author of the study. “By using uranium’s unique electronic properties, we can manipulate nitrogen in ways we didn’t think possible.”
At the atomic level, nitrogen is incredibly stable, its triple bond is one of the strongest in nature. That’s why it’s so hard (and energy-intensive) to convert nitrogen into something useful. The EPFL team’s innovation lies in how they got uranium to break and reassemble nitrogen bonds more easily, unlocking a promising alternative route to ammonia synthesis.
Crucially, this new catalyst operates under milder conditions than Haber-Bosch, potentially paving the way for small-scale, decentralized ammonia production that could benefit farms and communities without access to large industrial facilities.
And while uranium might sound scary, the researchers emphasize they’re using depleted uranium, a byproduct of the nuclear industry that’s less radioactive and relatively safe when handled properly. In fact, this innovation could help repurpose nuclear waste into something agriculturally useful.
The implications are vast. More sustainable ammonia production would not only cut greenhouse gas emissions, but also reduce the environmental impact of fertilizer overuse, a major contributor to water pollution and ecosystem damage.
It’s still early days, and the uranium catalyst is far from ready for commercial use. But the discovery opens the door to rethinking nitrogen fixation from the ground up, possibly inspiring other metal-based catalysts with similar capabilities.
“This is a proof of concept that challenges long-standing assumptions in chemistry,” says Mazzanti. “It reminds us that nature still has a few tricks up its sleeve, and sometimes, those tricks come from the most unexpected elements.”
As the world searches for greener ways to grow food, this radioactive innovation might just help rewrite the future of agriculture, one nitrogen molecule at a time.