title: A Unique Historical Case to Understand the Present Sustainable Development.
abstract: Every innovation seeks to become a profitable business, with this considered to be the engine for economic prosperity. When an innovation is revolutionary, its long-term consequences can be revolutionary too. The Haber-Bosh process for ammonia synthesis is arguably the twentieth century's most significant innovation, and its importance to global food production and its impact on the environment are not expected to diminish over the coming decades. The historical case of the ammonia synthesis process invented by Fritz Haber and the ensuing innovation provides an incomparable opportunity to illustrate the interactions across contemporary needs, prominent scientists, political concerns, moral dilemmas, ethics, governance and environmental implications at a time when the concept of sustainability was still in its infancy. Despite its high economic and environmental costs, no cleaner or more efficient sustainable alternative has so far been found, and so replacing this "old" innovation that still "feeds" a large part of the world's population does not appear to be on the cards in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Basque Country, Alameda Urquijo S/N. 48013, Bilbao, Spain. astrid.barona@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6186-3358
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barona
authors.affiliation: Department of Business Management, University of Basque Country, Alameda Urquijo S/N. 48013, Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Begoña
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Etxebarria
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Technologies and Environmental Engineering, National Polytechnic University of Armenia, Teryan 105, 0009, Yerevan, Armenia.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aleksanyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Basque Country, Nieves Cano 12, 01006, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Gorka
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gallastegui
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Basque Country, Nieves Cano 12, 01006, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Naiara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rojo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Basque Country, Nieves Cano 12, 01006, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Estibaliz
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diaz-Tena
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000941:ethics* / Q000266:history; D005308:Fertilizers; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D062069:Inventions / Q000266:history; D009584:Nitrogen; D012941:Social Responsibility; D000076502:Sustainable Development / Q000266:history
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D000641:Ammonia; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Ammonia synthesis; Dilemmas; Fritz Haber; Haber–Bosch process; Innovation; Invention