Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have discovered that a catalyst of calcium amide with a small amount of added barium (Ba-Ca(NH2)2) with ruthenium nanoparticles immobilized onto it can synthesize ammonia at an efficiency 100 times greater than that of conventional ruthenium catalysts at low temperatures below 300ºC. The performance of this catalyst is also several times higher when compared to iron catalysts currently being used industrially.