Recently, Spanish hydrogen transportation solution provider H2SITE has made a significant breakthrough by commissioning the world's first shipborne ammonia cracking system, which can generate high-purity hydrogen and is equipped with PEM fuel cells to generate electricity for auxiliary consumables on ships. This milestone achievement will bring revolutionary changes to the application of renewable energy in the shipping industry. In March 2023, the UK National Physical Laboratory also announced that AFC Energy, a leading supplier of hydrogen power generation technology, has successfully achieved the production of hydrogen with a purity of 99.99% through its ammonia cracking technology. This achievement will lay a solid foundation for the global promotion of ammonia as a sustainable clean fuel.

These milestone breakthroughs will bring new opportunities for the development of hydrogen energy technology and also promote the application of hydrogen energy in the fields of shipping and energy. With the continuous development and improvement of hydrogen energy technology, ammonia cracking technology will play a more important role in the future, making greater contributions to achieving the goals of clean energy and carbon emission reduction.

Pure hydrogen produced by Spanish shipborne ammonia cracking system

Recently, Spanish hydrogen transportation solution provider H2SITE has commissioned the world's first shipborne ammonia cracking system, which can generate high-purity hydrogen and is equipped with PEM fuel cells to generate electricity for auxiliary consumables on ships.

The company shared this milestone on November 21st, explaining that an integrated membrane reactor was installed and operated on a BERTHA B supply ship sailing along the coast of the Bay of Biscay.

H2Site states that its membrane reactor ensures the conversion of all ammonia into hydrogen while delivering high-purity hydrogen to the fuel cell in a single process step.

During the voyage, as part of the H2OCEAN project, the H2Site's splitter provided power for the ship's auxiliary services. For this project, the company collaborates with active participants in the maritime decarbonization field, such as Zumaia Offshore, Erhardt Offshore, Ajusa and TECNALIA, as well as the participation of Enagas and ABS.

"Our innovative membrane reactor technology not only improves system efficiency, but also reduces the footprint of the device. This is particularly important in applications with limited space, such as on ships." "Our design focus is on minimizing ammonia consumption, which is crucial for scaling up to accommodate higher power output devices."

H2SITE was established in 2020 and has the technology of reactors and separators, which can promote the conversion of various raw materials into hydrogen. These raw materials include ammonia, methanol, or synthesis gas, as well as separating hydrogen from low concentration gaseous mixtures for use in salt caverns or geological hydrogen applications.

The Japanese shipping company Mitsui Corporation (MOL) is also carrying out a project aimed at using offshore wind energy to produce hydrogen from the water on board ships and convert it into propulsion for ships.

Last year, Finnish technology group Wartsila signed a joint development agreement with Hycamite TCD Technologies to develop cost-effective hydrogen production from liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships.

H2 Industries, a hydrogen company headquartered in New York, and TECHNOLOG Services, an ocean engineering company, have also developed 3D designs for a concept ship that collects plastic waste and converts it into clean hydrogen.

UK ammonia cracking technology produces hydrogen gas with a purity of 99.99%

The UK National Physical Laboratory independently tested the hydrogen produced by AFC Energy ammonia cracking technology, successfully achieving a purity of 99.99%.

AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), a leading supplier of hydrogen power generation technology, is pleased to announce the latest milestone in the accelerated development of its modular and scalable ammonia cracking unit technology.

AFC Energy's next-generation ammonia cracking technology has successfully achieved 99.99% hydrogen reduction in single reactor testing.

The results were independently tested by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK.

The test confirms that the ammonia content in the hydrogen gas flow is significantly lower than the limit required to meet the "ISO 14687:2019 standards for vehicular and stationary fuel cells".

The results highlight the ability of AFC Energy's new ammonia cracking technology to provide fuel cell grade hydrogen on a modular and scalable basis.

The ammonia cracking technology complements AFC Energy's growing H-Power fuel cell generator products.

AFC Energy's ammonia cracking unit is capable of cracking ammonia into discrete hydrogen and nitrogen molecules. Then, hydrogen can be consumed as fuel in fuel cells or burned with nitrogen (containing approximately 78% of nitrogen) emitted into the atmosphere, achieving zero carbon emissions. However, the presence of uncracked trace amounts of ammonia in hydrogen may damage fuel cells.

In 2019, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released ISO 14687:2019, which specifies the international standard for the minimum mass characteristics of hydrogen as fuel in vehicles and fixed fuel cell applications, and specifies the maximum allowable residual ammonia level.

Therefore, AFC Energy's ammonia cracking reactor can meet the ISO standard for residual ammonia ("parts per billion" or "PPB") in hydrogen fuel, which is an important achievement.

Due to its high energy density (relative to hydrogen) and potential to replace traditional fossil fuels and carbon emissions, ammonia is expected to play an increasingly significant role in achieving industrial and maritime decarbonization goals. Ammonia is also seen as a promoter of international trade in hydrogen, which is transported by ships in the form of ammonia and breaks down into hydrogen at its target import destination.

Test details

UK NPL has been invited to independently analyze the hydrogen composition generated by AFC Energy's new ammonia cracking reactor and downstream purification technology. The analysis of NPL is based on a single ammonia cracking reactor.

The analysis of NPL confirms that the hydrogen extracted from AFC Energy's cracking and purification systems has successfully met the ammonia PPB standard for fuel cell grade hydrogen, which is an important milestone in demonstrating the potential of this technology to support the growing "ammonia power generation" market in both fixed and offshore applications.

The implementation of ISO 14687:2019 hydrogen purity standards related to ammonia PPB highlights the milestone that cracking technology can not only support "ammonia power generation" applications (whether fixed or offshore), but also has the potential to be used for hydrogenation of heavy-duty fuel cell trucks and buses, as an alternative to distributed networks of high power small electrolytic cells.

AFC Energy CEO Adam Bond stated:

Obtaining the ISO level of ammonia PPB in hydrogen from AFC Energy's proprietary ammonia cracking unit is an important milestone for the company. Meeting the ISO standard is key to the global adoption of ammonia as a sustainable clean fuel. Modular ammonia cracking units have a wide range of applications, and with the progress we have made so far, not only in cracking technology, but also in the integration of purification technology, for combustion and combustion in fixed and offshore applications The use of ammonia fuel in fuel cell energy applications has paved the way.

The continuous development and improvement of ammonia cracking technology will provide more possibilities for the widespread application of hydrogen energy technology, and make important contributions to achieving the goals of clean energy and carbon emission reduction. With the advancement of technology and the increasing global demand for sustainable energy, it is believed that ammonia cracking technology will play an increasingly important role in the future.