How does the strength of nitrogen’s triple bond affect nitrogen fixation?

The strength of the triple bond in molecular nitrogen ($N_2$) is the primary factor that makes the element relatively inert and difficult to process. With a bond energy of 226 kilocalories per mole, this linkage is exceptionally stable, requiring a very high activation energy to break before nitrogen atoms can react with other elements.12

Because of this stability, nitrogen fixation—the process of incorporating elemental nitrogen into usable compounds—is chemically challenging. In nature, this barrier is overcome by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which utilize the enzyme nitrogenase to catalyze the reduction of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. Industrially, the Haber-Bosch process achieves this fixation by using high-energy conditions to force the nitrogen molecules to break their bonds and combine with hydrogen.234