In examining the potential expanded use of ammonia in energy storage, it is critical to closely assess the health hazards from exposure to ammonia and the environmental risks that could arise from leaks. Ammonia is corrosive and can be toxic, and its high vapor pressure under standard conditions amplifies the risks associated with these hazards. However, ammonia can be detected by smell at concentrations well below levels that cause any long-term health effects.

From an environmental standpoint, ammonia poses a chronic threat to terrestrial ecosystems and contributes significantly to air pollution. Human activities have significantly altered the biogeochemical cycle, with the global industrial synthesis of ammonia and the combustion of nitrogen compounds comparable in scale to the natural fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by microbes in soils and oceans. While 80% of annual ammonia production is utilized as agricultural fertilizers, only 17% of the nitrogen is consumed by humans in crops, dairy, and meat products. The remaining nitrogen leaches into the soil, air, and water, leading to widespread biodiversity loss, eutrophication, and air quality problems caused by particulate matter, greenhouse gas emissions, and stratospheric ozone depletion.

Once applied to soil, whether from fertilizers or deposited from the atmosphere, ammonia is transformed by microbes, depending on soil conditions, into other compounds such as nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, and molecular nitrogen. Although ammonia itself is not a greenhouse gas, it can be converted to nitrous oxide after soil deposition, which is a significant contributor to the radiative forcing of climate. Ammonia also has a substantial indirect impact on climate through its role in particulate matter. One of the most significant measures to reduce air pollution in the UK and Europe is to minimize agricultural ammonia emissions by reducing deposition. As a result, it is crucial and imperative that any new applications of ammonia include effective measures to prevent additional emissions.

In contrast to fertilizers, nitrogen release from energy storage applications of ammonia should only be in the form of nitrogen gas. Strict controls, which are already present at all ammonia storage and relevant industrial sites, must be in place to ensure that the risks of ammonia release and NO3 formation are minimal.