Full-Time
Chemical R&D Engineer
Ammobia
11-50 employees
Licenses renewable-energy ammonia production technology
Compensation Overview
$100k - $200k/yr
San Francisco, CA, USA
In Person
Master's, PhD
 Process Engineering |
|---|
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- A deep quantitative understanding of thermodynamics, kinetics, and heat and mass transport is required.
- Deep expertise in heterogeneous catalysis, gas sorption, and/or reaction engineering is required.
- Demonstrated expertise transferring research and development designs and learnings to pilot scales is required.
- Demonstrated expertise developing and owning test plans and data outputs for reactor and chemical process systems is required.
- Hands-on experience specifying, designing, and building custom research and pilot-scale chemical equipment, including working knowledge of automation and control systems, is required.
- Experience working with technicians and operators to execute test plans is required.
- Demonstrated expertise in data analysis of time-series processes in Python and/or MATLAB, with proficiency in agentic coding for scientific computing, is required.
- Expertise in chemical reactor modeling, including working knowledge of reactor design equations, is required.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.
- Demonstrated experience managing small teams is required.
- Prior startup experience and willingness to work at an early-stage startup are required.
- At least 3 years of experience in a relevant industrial setting is required; applicants without industrial experience will not be considered.
- Conduct and manage tests on advanced reactor systems and materials characterization systems, including specifying and building custom reactor equipment.
- Transfer laboratory- and bench-scale research and development learnings and achievements to pilot demonstration, including developing operating procedures, designing test campaigns, leading laboratory- and pilot-scale system turnarounds, and analyzing data.
- Design and optimize active catalysts, gas sorbents, and formed composite materials through internal development and external research programs.
- Develop analytical and computational models of gas-solid reaction processes, set target specifications, link ex-situ measurements to in-reactor performance, and transfer reaction engineering knowledge to the plant process engineering team.
- Work with a small team of scientists, engineers, and technicians.
- Develop intellectual property across materials, process, and reactor development.
- Perform all work safely and help promote a laboratory safety culture.
- A Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemical Engineering or a similar field.
- Experience managing technicians, interns, or junior engineers.
- Operational experience in pilot chemical plants.
- Proficiency in techno-economic modeling.
- Expertise in catalyst manufacturing and scale-up.
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing automated control and data systems.
Ammobia develops a clean ammonia production process called Haber Bosch 2.0 that uses renewable energy to slash emissions from traditional ammonia production by 80-90%. The company licenses this technology to ammonia producers and other industrial clients, generating revenue from licensing fees, royalties, and potentially direct production of clean ammonia. Its customers include plastics, polymers, rubber, and fiber manufacturers (who together use a large share of global ammonia) as well as the maritime sector, where ammonia can serve as a zero-carbon fuel for shipping. Ammobia differentiates itself by providing a scalable, renewable-energy-based process through a licensing model, aiming to reduce carbon footprints across multiple heavy industries and support widespread adoption of green ammonia in shipping. The company’s goal is to cut CO2 emissions in ammonia production and position itself as a key player in the transition to sustainable chemical production and zero-carbon fuels.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
Seed
Total Funding
$7.5M
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2022
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- May 2026 page says low-carbon ammonia hit cost parity with fossil ammonia.
- Genesis partnership targets a 1000X scaleup by 2026, accelerating commercialization.
- Winning Shell's 2025 New Energy Challenge opened direct access to corporate deployment channels.
What critics are saying
- Commercial proof ends in 2026; any pilot failure kills licensing credibility.
- Air Products, Topsoe, and Casale already own entrenched ammonia customer relationships.
- No disclosed plants, revenues, or signed offtake contracts make Ammobia a capital-starved science project.
What makes Ammobia unique
- Ammobia's Haber-Bosch 2.0 runs 10x lower pressure and over 100°C cooler.
- January 2026 funding backs a modular 10-ton-per-day pilot, not lab chemistry.
- Shell Ventures, ALIAD, Chevron Technology Ventures, and MOL Switch validate industrial relevance.
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Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 13%1 year growth
↓ -3%2 year growth
↑ 0%Ammobia wins VITO4STARTERS pitch competition at Love Tomorrow. Ammobia has won the VITO4STARTERS pitch competition at Love Tomorrow 2026. The startup impressed the jury with its technology for producing green ammonia more efficiently, sustainably and at a lower cost. Ammobia was crowned the winner on the main stage during the Love Tomorrow evening programme, in front of an audience of 5,000 people. News 10 August 2026 Now in its fourth edition, the VITO4STARTERS pitch competition once again demonstrated the programme's international reach. The ten selected startups came from Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Austria, Scotland and the United States, developing solutions for a broad range of sustainability challenges, including green ammonia, wastewater treatment, battery recycling, hydrogen production, microplastics, robotics and bio-based materials. The jury consisted of experts from the European Innovation Council (EIC), PMV, VITO's Venturing Studio and entrepreneurs who have founded multiple companies. They evaluated each startup on the strength of its technology, business model and potential to create societal impact. Following the jury's deliberation, Ammobia, Bio Clean Carbon and Wattloop were selected as this year's finalists. Winner Ammobia: driving the energy transition with green ammonia. Ammobia is developing an innovative technology for producing green ammonia more efficiently, cost-effectively and sustainably. As ammonia is an essential building block for the energy transition and the decarbonisation of industry and agriculture, the company's technology has the potential to drive a major shift in ammonia production. The fast-growing startup, based in San Francisco, is exploring plans for a demonstration plant in the NextGen District at the Port of Antwerp. The company's strong combination of technological innovation, market potential and impact ultimately convinced the jury to crown Ammobia this year's winner. Ammobia receives a Fast Track within the VITO4STARTERS programme, accelerating its pathway towards a potential investment by VITO. The other finalists. Bio Clean Carbon: turning wastewater into valuable raw materials. Danish startup Bio Clean Carbon develops technologies for wastewater purification and carbon capture. Rather than viewing wastewater as a problem, the company sees it as a source of valuable raw materials. Using a patented cyanobacteria-based approach, it contributes to cleaner water and a more efficient use of scarce resources. Its strong focus on sustainability, circularity and scalable impact earned Bio Clean Carbon a place among this year's finalists. Wattloop: giving EV batteries a second life. Belgian startup Wattloop transforms end-of-life electric vehicle batteries into valuable energy storage solutions. By giving EV batteries a second life, the company contributes to a more circular battery value chain and a more efficient use of critical raw materials. Its solution, at the intersection of the circular economy, electrification and energy storage, earned Wattloop a place among this year's finalists. VITO4STARTERS: a head start for deep tech entrepreneurs. The VITO4STARTERS pitch competition is about more than selecting a winner. VITO4STARTERS supports ambitious deep tech startups that build on VITO's expertise to develop solutions for societal challenges in climate, energy, the circular economy, health and sustainable industry. Through its investment programme, VITO4STARTERS gives startups access to research expertise, testing facilities, pilot infrastructure and an extensive network of researchers, companies, investors and public partners. The programme helps startups bring promising technologies to market faster and maximise their impact.
Ammobia raises $7.5M in seed funding. Ammobia, a San Francisco, California-based developer of low-cost ammonia production technology, raised $7.5 million in seed funding. Backers included Shell Ventures, Air Liquide (ALIAD), MOL Switch, and Chevron Technology Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to build a pilot facility to derisk its reactor technology and select a customer cohort for commercial demonstrations of its modular plant designs. Led by CEO and Co-founder Karen Baert and Chief Engineering Officer Guido Radaelli, Ammobia advances "Haber-Bosch 2.0," a proprietary thermochemical synthesis technology that operates at lower pressure and 150°C lower temperature than conventional processes to reduce synthesis loop costs by up to half. Haber-Bosch 2.0 leverages novel material science, process design, and commercially available components to improve ammonia's affordability, transportability, and independence from fossil-fuel-exporting regions, minimizing supply shock exposure and enabling long-term energy resilience. The company has demonstrated thousands of hours of operation for its reactor technology, positioning it to serve the global fertilizer, maritime shipping, and power generation markets.
Shell Ventures, Air Liquide, MOL Switch, and Chevron Technology Ventures back breakthrough poised to deliver 2x cost reduction for global ammonia...
Ammobia, a new startup, has raised $7.5 million in a seed round to scale technology that reduces ammonia production costs by up to 40%. Investors include Air Liquide's ALIAD, Chevron Technology Ventures, Chiyoda Corporation, MOL Switch and Shell Ventures. The company has modified the century-old Haber-Bosch process, which produces nearly 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Ammobia's method operates at 150°C cooler and 10 times lower pressure than traditional processes, reducing pollution whilst using cheaper pumps and equipment. The conventional process requires high heat (500°C) and pressure (around 200 bar), typically using fossil fuels. Co-founder and CEO Karen Baert says the improved cost-effectiveness of transport and storage could expand ammonia's use beyond fertiliser, supporting decarbonisation roadmaps in Japan and South Korea.
Ammobia and KC8 Capture Technologies win the 2025 New Energy Challenge. Helsinki, Finland - Ammobia and KC8 Capture Technologies have been named winners of the tenth edition of the New Energy Challenge, an annual competition that recognises start-ups and scale-ups driving innovation in the energy transition. This year's challenge focused on two critical themes for a net-zero future: renewable (green) hydrogen and carbon removal. Both areas are essential to decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors and achieving global climate goals. The finals of the 2025 New Energy Challenge were held during a live pitching event at Slush, one of the world's leading start-up and tech gatherings, which brings together founders, investors, and innovators to foster entrepreneurship and collaboration. Selected from more than 160 global entries, the top twelve finalists presented their solutions to an expert jury of industry leaders, investors, and innovation specialists. The competition provided participants with access to expert coaching, networking opportunities, and tailored support to refine their business models and collaboration proposals. From these twelve finalists, Ammobia and KC8 Capture Technologies emerged as winners and will now have the opportunity to collaborate with Shell to further develop and scale their solutions. Winning innovations. Start-up winner: Ammobia. Ammobia is developing Haber Bosch 2.0 - an innovative, low-cost and flexible process for producing clean ammonia from green hydrogen and air. By harnessing the latest advances in materials science and catalysis, Ammobia's technology enables the production of clean ammonia at low cost. "Our goal is to produce hundreds of tons of low-cost clean ammonia within five years to help decarbonise energy, fertilisers, and mobility - and we hope to do that with Shell. The hard work starts now, and we're excited to create impact together," says Karen Baert, Co-Founder and CEO, Ammobia. Scale-up winner: KC8 Capture Technologies. KC8 Capture Technologies is commercialising a carbon capture platform based on potassium carbonate, known as UNO MK3(TM). The system uses a safe, non-toxic solvent capable of capturing up to 95% of CO[2], with lower capital and lower operating costs compared to traditional amine-based technologies. "Winning this challenge is a major step toward scaling our technology. Our next goal is to launch pilots and have a full-scale system ready to deploy by the end of next year," says Greg Ross, CEO and Managing Director, KC8 Capture Technologies. During the finals event at Slush, the twelve finalists pitched their innovations live on stage. Audience members were invited to vote for their favourite solution, and WASE was named the winner of the People's Choice award. WASE provides onsite waste-to-energy systems that turn organic waste into clean water and carbon-neutral biogas, helping producers cut costs, generate revenue, and achieve ROI in three to five years. Its patented technology accelerates digestion 10x, boosts methane yield by 30%, removes more organics, and shrinks footprint by up to 70%, with modular reactors for rapid deployment. "Winning the People's Choice award is a great recognition of our scale-up journey and growing traction in energy security. We're raising our Series A, which will accelerate expansion across the EU and USA, and are on track to be generating over 80GWh of bio-methane and renewable natural gas by 2028," says Thomas Fudge, CEO and Founder, WASE. A decade of impact. The New Energy Challenge is organised by Rockstart, Shell, Unknown Group, and YES!Delft. It is an annual open innovation competition that connects promising global start-ups and scale-ups in the energy sector with stakeholders to accelerate the decarbonisation of energy systems, aiming to make a lasting global impact on the energy transition. Since its launch in 2016, the New Energy Challenge has: * Received more than 1,500 applications from innovative companies worldwide. * Supported over 100 finalists through its accelerator programme, providing expert coaching and guidance, helping them to take their ideas to the next level. * Helped participants secure significant follow-on funding and scale globally. Over the years, the NEC has covered a wide range of themes, from solar, carbon capture and nature-based solutions to electrification of industry and hydrogen production. The competition is an important part of Shell's open innovation efforts, aiming to support solutions that may contribute to the energy transition. Jury members' quotes. David Kordonowy, Head of Commercial Partnerships, Shell Open Innovation: "We are constantly impressed by the ideas and execution from the startups that apply to the New Energy Challenge and our hope is that, through this competition, we can forge a partnership that both accelerates these amazing innovators and allows Shell to be a part of their journey demonstrating their technologies." Jermaine Saaltink, Investment Director at Shell Ventures: "The quality of innovation we've seen this year is outstanding. Ammobia stands out for its impressive team and novel technology, targeting a major source of emissions in a large market. KC8 distinguishes itself with strong technical progress and commercial traction, with pilots that address some of the hardest-to-abate emissions." Max ter Horst, Managing Partner, Rockstart Energy Fund: "The New Energy Challenge continues to demonstrate the power of collaboration between start-ups and corporates. It's exciting to see such powerful clean energy solutions and inspiring to experience how much the start-ups got out of the programme." Ras Lalmy, Managing Director, YES!Delft: "The winners bring promising tech solutions, and Shell helps open doors to market opportunities. Together, that's a powerful formula for impact." Martin Luxemburg, Director Public & Partnerships, Unknown Group: "Choosing the winners was no easy task. The diversity and quality of solutions this year were exceptional, but KC8 and Ammobia truly impressed us with their vision and execution." Published November 19, 2025