Think of ammonia as a liquid battery that stores hydrogen for easy shipping. This project builds a smarter 'unlocking' device that pulls the hydrogen back out using a special filter and a catalyst. It works at lower temperatures and uses far fewer rare materials than current methods, making the process cheaper and cleaner.
Ammonia is a great hydrogen carrier, but current 'cracking' methods to get the hydrogen back are too expensive, use too many rare materials, and require temperatures that are too high.
A Catalytic Membrane Reactor (CMR) system integrating structured catalysts, Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes, and a sorbent-based polishing step.
If you are a port operator dealing with the high cost of hydrogen fuel for ships — this project developed a membrane reactor that brings the decentralized cost of H2 from 5.51 euro/kg to 4.27 euro/kg. This allows for efficient on-site hydrogen production from ammonia imports.
If you are a steel producer dealing with expensive carbon-heavy energy sources — this project developed a cracking system that produces ultra-pure hydrogen (>99.998%). This enables a shift to green hydrogen using ammonia as a carrier with 22.5% lower decentralized costs.
If you are a power generator dealing with fuel cell degradation due to impurities — this project developed a sorbent-based polishing step for fuel cell grade hydrogen. It ensures the gas is ultra-pure (>99.998%) while reducing the use of critical raw materials by 80-90%.
The system aims to reduce the decentralized cost of H2 from 5.51 euro/kg to 4.27 euro/kg, representing a decrease of 22.5%.
The complete system is being validated at TRL5 at the facilities of VTTI in the port of Rotterdam.
The project is developing an IPR Management and Exploitation Strategy with the ambition to create a spin-off company to commercialize the ammonia cracking system.
It operates at lower temperatures (400-450ºC) and uses 80-90% fewer critical raw materials compared to conventional packed bed systems.
Based on available project data, the project period runs until 2027-06-30, with TRL5 validation as a key milestone.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven, with 9 out of 12 partners (75%) being industrial entities, including one SME. This strong commercial bias, combined with the support of KIC InnoEnergy for the planned spin-off, indicates a high focus on market entry rather than pure academic research.
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