Ammonia: Feedstocks
Why gas prices are really ammonia prices
What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.Ammonia is air plus hydrogen, and the hydrogen comes from gas or coal. Gas makes up 72-85% of production cost (USDA ERS), so producers on cheap gas in the US, Gulf, Russia, Trinidad and North Africa sit at the bottom of the cost curve, and European plants on imported gas set the top. Green ammonia swaps gas for electricity, about 9-10 MWh per tonne.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas Natural gas | about 28-33 MMBtu per t NH3 | hydrogen source and fuel | 72-85% of production cost | USDA ERS; nitrogen tile |
| Tc Thermal coal | about 1.2-1.5 t per t NH3 (indicative) | hydrogen source in China and Talcher | not published | IEA (2021); indicative |
| N Nitrogen (ammonia) | 0.823 t N2 per t NH3 | nitrogen source | near zero (air) | stoichiometry |
| Hydrogen (intermediate) | 0.178 t H2 per t NH3 | reactant | most of cost (via gas) | stoichiometry |
| Electricity (green route) | about 9-10 MWh per t NH3 (indicative) | electrolysis and ASU | about 60-70% of green ammonia cost (indicative) | indicative |
Who is low-cost, and why
US producers paid $3.31/MMBtu for gas in 2025 (CF), a gas cost of about $110/t. European gas averaged $25.42/MMBtu in September 2026 (World Bank), or about $710-840/t of gas cost at 28-33 MMBtu/t, above the September 2026 Tampa price of $555/t. Chinese coal plants and Gulf gas plants are low cost; India's LNG-based plants are mid-curve but protected by the urea subsidy.
Raw materials on the commodity table
Gas Natural gasTc Thermal coalN Nitrogen (ammonia)What it is made into
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| Ur Urea | about 60% of ammonia |
| HNO3 Nitric acid | feeds ammonium nitrate, adipic acid, nitrobenzene |
| AN Ammonium nitrate | fertiliser and explosives |
| AS Ammonium sulphate | fertiliser; also caprolactam by-product |
| DAP DAP and MAP | ammonia plus phosphoric acid |
| CPL Caprolactam | nylon 6 |
| ACN Acrylonitrile | ammoxidation of propylene |
| eF Low-carbon hydrogen and e-fuels | ammonia as hydrogen carrier |