Park People: Dr Yubiao Niu, Nium

Ignited by a childhood dream, Co-Founder and CTO of Nium, Dr Yubiao Niu, shares how growing up next to a Haber-Bosch plant fuelled his mission to decarbonise ammonia production.

Joining forces with a former racing car engineer and seasoned entrepreneur, the team discovers how Yubiao is working to combat the climate emergency from Nium’s Milton Park headquarters. 

Hi Yubiao! Please tell us a bit about Nium… 

Nium is a nanotechnology company, working to tackle the climate emergency starting by decarbonising the global production of ammonia.  

Ammonia is widely used in fertiliser production and a front runner in clean fuel that offers nine times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries and three times that of hydrogen. The challenge is that most ammonia is produced using the Haber-Bosch method, a process heavily reliant on burning fossil fuels.  

Nium’s ultra-low carbon ammonia production presents an opportunity to produce clean ammonia and reduce the reliance on centralised production. We have built a modular system that can create ammonia for fertiliser or fuel, on-site, with significantly less transportation and storage needs. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in nanotechnology? 

Growing up, I lived near a Haber-Bosch plant. I remember the distinct unpleasantness when breathing in the harsh smell. I pursued chemical engineering and nanophysics at university, spending a total of 12 years in academia and research.  

Ultimately, I wanted to make a bigger impact and knew I needed to apply the technology I was researching to industry, to make a difference in the real world.  

Can you tell us how you co-founded Nium? 

I studied a paper from the Stanford nanoscience team, which theorised that minuscule technologies could reduce the energy required for ammonia synthesis, by replicating the natural nitrogen-fixing abilities in certain plants.  

Recognising this was a groundbreaking discovery for ammonia production, I built a dedicated lab equipment to test the theory, spending three years crafting atomic precision machines capable of powering ammonia synthesis from just water and air.  

After validating my findings, I met the other co-founders of Nium, Lewis Jenkins, an entrepreneur, and Phil Hunter, a former race car engineer, at the University of Cambridge Union in Spring 2022. By the summer of that year, Nium had emerged.  

What do you like most about your role at Nium? 

Transitioning from academia to industry has been really rewarding and I feel I’m making a bigger impact. What excites me the most is having the opportunity to pioneer something new and creative, with the potential to make a significant global impact on the climate emergency.  

Why did you choose to be based at Milton Park? 

We selected Milton Park as it provides ample room for us to grow. 

The strategic location also attracts talent from both Oxford and London, which is crucial for a hybrid company like ours. This move ensures that our team can seamlessly navigate between office and lab spaces, facilitating collaboration and innovation.