Globalising Synthetic Nitrogen: The Interwar Inauguration of a New Industry

The most spectacular development in industrial chemistry during the early twentieth century concerned the capture of atmospheric nitrogen by the Haber-Bosch high-pressure ammonia process at the German chemical enterprise Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik (BASF), of Ludwigshafen. This firm, confident that its complex process could not be readily imitated, set out to dominate the global nitrogen fertiliser market. The response was the emergence of rival high-pressure ammonia processes in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan during the 1920s. This article is an historical appreciation of the settings in which several countries, often driven by concerns over national security, were encouraged to develop and adopt non-BASF high-pressure nitrogen capture technologies. Moreover, synthetic ammonia was at the forefront of large-scale strategic self-sufficiency and state sponsored programmes in three countries - Italy, Russia, and Japan - at the very same time when the newer technologies became available. As a result, the chemical industries of these nations, under the influences of fascism, communism, and colonial modernisation projects, began moving into the top ranks.