One of the answers the world has been looking for might have been hidden in plain sight. Over the last thirty years, humanity has hunted for a way to wean ourselves off the addiction to fossil fuels. This lofty goal, seemingly out of reach, appears to be changing. The main component might just be found under your sink.

A Danish/Canadian collaboration, NH3 Canada, has procured a patent for the synthesis of ammonia using electricity. This process creates no greenhouse gases and is efficient to an unheard of degree. After Robert Leth — managing director of NH3 Canada — took an iPhone video of the process in their laboratory, his inbox exploded with emails and global interest began to spread.

Necessity drives innovation, and it was no different in the wind power industry in Denmark. Working through the early 2000s, Leth helped pioneer the adoption of today’s wind technology throughout Canada. Though success was found, the downside of the technology was clear.

“The question that everyone asks: What happens when the wind doesn't blow? That is the achilles heel of the whole thing.” — Robert Leth

Slowly, a solution emerged that required the collaboration of various industries.

“We were at the COP 15 Climate Change Conference in 2009, in Copenhagen and we found a guy trying to do something totally different,” said Leth. Inventor Roger Gordon had created a process that transformed renewable energy into fuel that can run on existing vehicles with internal combustion engines. That fuel was NH3 — more commonly known as (anhydrous) ammonia. Leth and his group were appreciative, but initially didn’t see the connection.

“That’s really not what we’re doing. But god bless you, with green fuels and no emissions, [the idea of renewable energy into fuel] sounds great, also,” Leth explained his first reaction.

But the idea held. Later at dinner, his team reflected on the diesel electric generators that were contemporary power generation units. They were basically just internal combustion engines. There was a moment of dawning realization. They might have something.

Leth met with Gordon at his Ontario home. They drove in his ammonia fueled car, and made a handshake deal. If Leth and his team could successfully commercialize this technology, they had a partnership.

Ammonia is one of the world’s most frequently produced inorganic chemicals. When watered down, this is the same pungent smelling substance that we use to clean glass and which we’re not supposed to mix with chlorine. Widely used as fertilizer, the compound is a source of nitrogen that is used to increase crop yield all around the globe. David Wolfe, in his 2001 book, Tales from the Underground, claims the production of ammonia for fertilizer is responsible for helping support one third of the earth’s population.

One of the reasons why ammonia has been put to use in such incredible degree is its stability. It’s a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, arranged in a pyramid structure with triple electron bonds. A room full of liquid ammonia has the same potential energy as propane, but if you lit a match there would be no explosion. In fact, to be ignitable for a combustion reaction a small amount of conventional fuel must be added.

We currently farm the chemical using the Haber-Bosch process, which involves burning off cheaply available natural gas. The process of combining nitrogen found in the air and hydrogen from methane was invented to give Nazi Germany a source of ammonia after the British cut off their supply during World War II. This production of ammonia was a critical component to the continuing war effort.

As with many other things that we originally used to blow each other up, ammonia has now become integral to our continuing existence. Ammonia is one of the world’s most produced chemicals. Although, it’s production efficiently pales in comparison to petroleum products. Nh3 Canada has changed the equation towards much more efficient production. Leth believes it will be key to how we move and progress to a more sustainable society.

“As we looked at it more and more, it dawned on us how preposterous the current system is.” — Robert Leth

The new ammonia synthesis wants to piggyback on current green energy production. Wind, tidal, hydroelectric and solar plants all create electricity that does not get used in the grid. About 30 per cent of energy produced in Ontario was in excess, costing about $1.2 billion over three years. NH3Canada wants to have its technology ready when supply outstrips demand. The extra power can be used to run the synthesis and save the potential energy for later use.

The need for energy storage brings to light weaknesses in our electrical grid.

“As we looked at it more and more, it dawned on us how preposterous the current system is, because literally all the electricity we use in Canada was made less then a second ago. To hit all those targets and to provide all of those thresholds that we take for granted, we constantly overproduce,” said Leth.

The ammonia synthesis could take energy created by wind generation one day and then use it to power an ammonia fueled generator when the wind decides not to blow. The energy collected by solar panels can be used at night. Leth characterizes the new process as a type of cloud storage for energy.

Hydrogen generated for the synthesis serves a dual role of source and further application of the technology. Being a famously volatile chemical, hydrogen is currently treated as a waste byproduct. Leth acknowledges the problem with this: “There a lot of people out there, very quietly burning off a lot of hydrogen to keep from blowing up. They dispose of it as fast as they produce it.”

Flaring and venting is one of the most controversial industrial engineering topics today. Excess hydrocarbons must be burned off when generated in petroleum extraction and chemical plants. Leth proposes that NH3 Canada uses the excess gas to form the hydrogen used in the synthesis.

The dream of Roger Gordon has already come to fruition. The experimental hypersonic X-15 aircraft project used ammonia as part of its rocket fuel. A University of Michigan team drove an ammonia fuelled car from Detroit to San Francisco with a single fill-up in Wyoming. Their car produced almost no carbon exhaust and kept the engine incredibly clean. Shell today uses nitrogen to remove the carbon build-up inside engines.

“NH3, as we have now found, can be operated like any other fuel. The amount of infrastructures already available, and the cost, is outlandishly cheaper than any other proposition.” — Robert Leth

The excess energy created can be stored in this stable chemical while being shipped, piped or trucked wherever needed. Tidal energy created at the coast can almost directly be translated to energy for your car.

“NH3 is always a bridesmaid and never a bride. It’s incredible how close we've been to using NH3 in the last one hundred and thirty years. Now we finally have the right conditions,” said Leth.