The Haber-Bosch process was invented by the German chemist Fritz Haber to meet a growing demand for nitrogen fertilizers—brought upon by the need to feed the world's population through the 20th century. The process was the first economically viable way to produce ammonia on an industrial scale. Ammonia is vital to many fields, including the production of fertilizers as well as, more controversially, explosives (Zumdahl, 2025, p.1). Before Haber's invention, the primary way of getting ammonia was mining deposits of guano—that is, bird excrement  (Vandermeer, 2011, p.149). Haber discovered a way to produce ammonia with only 3 inputs: atmospheric nitrogen, water and natural gas, while Carl Bosch adapted it for industry (Philip & Morrison, 2001, p.1).

Fritz Haber received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for the synthesis of ammonia, and Carl Bosch was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1931 for development of chemical high pressure methods.