“The ammonia cracking system developed will serve as a demonstration plant”
TECNALIA’s invested company, H2SITE, has secured funding from the EIC Accelerator to deploy a demonstration plant for its ammonia cracking unit, capable of producing one tonne of high-purity hydrogen per day.
The European Innovation Council, through its EIC Accelerator programme, has granted H2SITE to develop a project to deploy a first-of-its-kind ammonia cracking unit capable of producing one tonne of high-purity hydrogen per day. The system is based on H2SITE’s patented palladium membrane reactor technology, which allows simultaneous catalytic ammonia decomposition and selective hydrogen separation in a single unit.
Key benefits of H2SITE technology
This state-of-the-art technology offers several key advantages over conventional ammonia cracking processes:
- Lower Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) from ammonia due to high efficiency and integrated design.
- Lower energy consumption by operating at significantly lower temperatures (400-450°C) than traditional cracking methods (typically 600-800°C).
- Production of high-purity hydrogen, compliant with ISO 14687 Grade D, suitable for direct use in fuel cells and industrial applications.
- Compact and modular design, facilitating decentralised hydrogen production close to demand centres.
Demonstration plant for technology validation
As H2SITE CEO Andrés Galnares explained, “the ammonia cracking system will serve as a demonstration plant, with the aim of validating the technological and commercial maturity of H2SITE’s integrated membrane reactor approach on a relevant industrial scale, with the aim of advancing the decarbonisation of hard-to-reduce sectors”.
Low-carbon hydrogen transport solutions
As the hydrogen economy develops, efficient low-carbon hydrogen transport solutions are essential. Ammonia is a promising hydrogen carrier due to its high volumetric energy density and existing infrastructure, and more than 20 million tonnes of ammonia are transported by sea every year.
Developments in ammonia cracking technology, such as H2SITE’s integrated membrane reactor, will help make this pathway competitive and enable flexible, large-scale hydrogen supply chains.
