Tsubame BHB On-site Small-Scale Ammonia Synthesis Plants

Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd. was established in April 2017 as a venture originating from the Institute of Science Tokyo and is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. It addresses the dependence of ammonia supply on large, centralised Haber-Bosch plants by enabling distributed, on-site production for fertiliser, industrial and energy uses.

Its small-scale ammonia synthesis modules use an electride catalyst invented by Honorary Professor Hideo Hosono, which allows synthesis at a reaction temperature at least 30 degrees Celsius lower and at one-third or less of the pressure of conventional Haber-Bosch. The first commercial model produces 500 tonnes of ammonia per year and a 5,000-tonne model is planned. Plants can run on hydrogen derived from natural gas or from industrial by-product streams, and can produce industrial-grade or ultra-high-purity ammonia.

• Electride catalyst: enables ammonia synthesis under milder conditions than Haber-Bosch.
• Low temperature and pressure: at least 30 degrees Celsius lower and one-third or less of the pressure.
• 500 t/yr module: first commercial model, now in trial production in Japan.
• Scalable models: a 5,000 t/yr model is planned for larger sites.
• Ultra-high-purity ammonia: grade designed for solar cell manufacturing.
• By-product hydrogen use: converts industrial by-product hydrogen into ammonia on site.

Fertiliser companies in the Mekong Delta could pilot local ammonia production linked to solar or wind power. Solar cell factories in northern Vietnamese industrial parks could source ultra-high-purity ammonia on site. Chemical plants with by-product hydrogen, such as chlor-alkali producers, could convert it into ammonia.

Users can produce ammonia where it is consumed instead of relying on long supply chains from large plants. Lower temperature and pressure simplify equipment compared with conventional synthesis. Small modules make use of by-product or renewable hydrogen at sites too small for a full-scale plant, and the company says the METI subsidy roughly halves the initial investment for its India demonstration.

Ammonia demand is growing beyond fertiliser into fuels and electronics, while countries seek local supply that is less exposed to imports and price swings. Vietnam's 2024 hydrogen strategy covers green ammonia, and Southeast Asian agriculture and a growing solar manufacturing base create room for small, distributed ammonia plants.

Established on 5 April 2017; headquartered in Shin-Yokohama with an R&D centre at the Institute of Science Tokyo and a branch R&D centre at Ajinomoto's Kawasaki plant. Its first commercial facility, ordered through Daiichi Jitsugyo for INPEX's Kashiwazaki Hydrogen Park, began trial production in January 2026, and it holds orders for two units in Japan.