Researchers in Australia have developed a process using renewable electricity to convert carbon dioxide and nitrogen pollutants into urea fertiliser, targeting major industrial emissions.

SYDNEY: Researchers at the University of New South Wales have unveiled a breakthrough process that transforms high-emissions waste into a zero-carbon fertiliser.

The method uses renewable electricity to drive an electrochemical reaction that couples captured carbon dioxide with nitrogen pollutants like nitrate and nitrite, common contaminants from agriculture and industry, to directly produce urea.

This innovative approach bypasses the traditional, fossil fuel-intensive method of manufacturing urea, which currently relies on natural gas or coal under high temperature and pressure.

“Urea is the fertiliser used to feed the crops for more than half of the world’s population, but currently, it’s made from natural gas or coal,” said UNSW Associate Professor Rahman Daiyan, the study’s corresponding author.

Daiyan explained that the vision is to create “zero-carbon urea where we directly couple waste carbon dioxide with nitrogen pollutants using renewable electricity, rather than relying on ammonia as an intermediate.”

The research, published in Nature Communications, utilised a copper-cobalt catalyst designed at an atomic scale which demonstrated a strong synergy for controlled carbon-nitrogen bonding and improved urea production compared to existing systems.

The technology specifically targets unavoidable emissions from sources like cement factories and agricultural waste streams.

As a major agricultural exporter with limited domestic production, Australia imported 3.8 million tonnes of urea in 2024, highlighting the significant potential market for this sustainable alternative.

 The Sun Malaysia