The recent release of The Odyssey (2026) has brought into sharp relief the importance of understanding the real history behind Homer’s ancient Greek epic; a story trying to make sense of the collapse of civilisation. Notably, the discourse surrounding the film has highlighted the misconceptions between mythological storytelling and historical truth. Therefore, as the fertilizer industry faces its own period of upheaval in the face of geopolitical tension, it is prudent to look back at one of the greatest scientific developments of the modern age, the creation of the Haber-Bosch process.
The Haber-Bosch process is rightly considered one of the most important technological developments of the last century. Since its industrial scale application in 1913, it has enabled exponential population growth through enhanced fertilization using nitrogen as a source. It has become the go-to production method for the last 100 years. To understand the importance of the method, we must look at the landscape prior to its inception. During the 19th century the link between agriculture and chemistry was being explored: mainly scientists were looking at biological sources of key fertilization ingredients – nitrogen and phosphates. With the Industrial Revolution leading to an increased need for improved agriculture, the manure trade rose and in 1841 the first shipment of Peruvian guano (bird excrements containing a large proportion of nitrogen) landed in Great Britain with the use spreading to Europe and the US.1 Then, as the elements of the nitrogen cycle were gradually discovered, a surge in demand was seen towards the end of the 19th century as the chemical became a prime element for improving agriculture.2 Heading into the 20th century it was clear that the nitrogen held the keys to the future.
Enter German chemist Fritz Haber. He devised a method to transform nitrogen in the air into a usable fertilizer compound, creating an artificial nitrogen fixation process. This work was driven partly by the promise of a contract with chemical engineering company BASF and the company’s own engineer, Carl Bosch, replicated Haber’s process on an industrial scale.3 Subsequently, the Haber-Bosch process has been utilised globally to massively increase the output of crop yields. For the process you need natural gas as a source of hydrogen, so nitrogen can bind to it to form ammonia. Then you need enough energy to generate extreme heat and pressure alongside a metal catalyst to make the process work. The ammonia can then be processed into a solid or liquid fertilizer, or further processed into other agricultural products.
As a result of this process, we’ve witnessed an explosive expansion in population growth that correlates with the growing use of nitrogenous fertilizers. This growth would likely not have happened without the discovery of the Harber-Bosch process. It is important to remember this history and its impact if we are to understand the face of the future.
In the end, Haber provided humanity with a scientific workaround to natural limitations, the result was almost mythical as he achieved what was previously thought impossible, “Brot aus Luft.”
References
- https://hal.science/hal-03352863v1/document
- https://rmi.org/resources/the-what-where-and-why-of-fertilizer/
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38305504
