Addis Energy raises $8.3 million for ammonia production

The funding will advance Addis Energy’s AI-driven lab of chemical reactors

Addis Energy, a startup harnessing the Earth itself to produce affordable, abundant ammonia, has closed an oversubscribed $8.3 million seed round, bringing its total funding to $17.3 million. The round was led by At One Ventures, with participation from existing investors Engine Ventures and Pillar VC.

The funding will advance Addis Energy’s AI-driven lab of chemical reactors that simulate subsurface conditions, producing ammonia more efficiently than the traditional Haber-Bosch process through a net energy-positive approach. The company will also expand its operations team and prepare for its first field pilot.

Ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizer, is critical to the global food supply, with demand expected to rise 25% over the next five years. Yet conventional production consumes roughly 2% of global energy, much of it from natural gas.

“By merging chemical innovation developed out of MIT with on-the-ground oil and gas industry experience, Addis Energy is enabling energy abundance and affordability, and creating new economic opportunities for domestic energy production with zero emissions,” said Michael Alexander, CEO and co-founder.

“Considering the U.S. imports ~12% of the domestic ammonia supply, we have a timely opportunity to create a new platform for U.S.-led, domestic clean fuel and chemical production. This funding will allow us to scale our novel approach to ammonia production and get ‘shovel-ready’ for our first pilot.”

Since its January 2025 launch, Addis Energy has artnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to conduct reactive transport modeling leveraging the lab’s expertise in carbon sequestration and in-situ mining.

It has also collected over 600 rock samples across US geologies to demonstrate cost-effective ammonia production where natural gas is scarce.

“Addis Energy is not trying to ‘green’ ammonia. They’re throwing out the model entirely. Instead of spending billions to recreate extreme pressure and heat above ground, they use what already exists underground. The Earth becomes the reactor,” said Laurie Menoud, Partner at At One Ventures.

“Haber-Bosch is one of the most efficient industrial processes ever built, which is exactly why incremental innovations won’t compete with it. The only way to win is to change the physics and the system architecture. Addis is doing both. And that’s how you get a cost curve that incumbents simply can’t follow.”

In the coming months, Addis Energy plans to complete nationwide geological mapping and move forward with its first pilot field test, marking a bold step toward redefining ammonia production in the US.