The demonstration will be the world’s largest “ammonia to hydrogen” modular cracker demonstration in operation with the system designed to deliver 140 tonnes of fuel cell grade hydrogen per annum (400kg/day).

OCI will supply ammonia via its Rotterdam terminal, where it imports from its facilities in the US and MENA enabling a tangible demonstration of ammonia’s role in supporting global hydrogen trade.

AFC Energy’s cracker system consumes a small fraction of the power consumed by electrolysers, highlighting an ideal distributed hydrogen source potential, whether for use in stationary (including motive refueling) or maritime applications. Hydrogen produced from the plant could be supplied to customers of the Company’s H-Power Generators (including Speedy Hydrogen Solutions) and third party customers.  

The cracker demonstration plant has been designed, built and commissioned by AFC Energy over the course of 2023, leading to the successful first production of cracked hydrogen this week. The demonstration plant, including purification technology, will now be operated and validated over several months with targeted fuel cell grade hydrogen production. 

Engineering will start in 2024 to containerise the ammonia cracker platform, including purification technology, to enable mobile, distributed hydrogen production at the point of consumption with an initial focus on European and Asian markets.

AFC Energy has signed its first Letter of Intent with the trading arm of one of Europe’s largest energy companies to market the potential for ammonia as a hydrogen carrier fuel to its customers, and is currently in dialogue with multiple European project partners, demonstrating the high growth potential of its modular, scalable cracker technology.

Adam Bond, Chief Executive, AFC Energy, said: 

“With an ammonia cracker offering market leading efficiency, low power consumption and the production of fuel cell grade hydrogen, AFC Energy’s first pilot project is a major step forward in unlocking the barriers of hydrogen logistics and transport. The cracker system, in containerised form, will be capable of replication across Europe and Asia with our ability to generate low cost, decarbonised hydrogen from internationally traded green and blue ammonia being a key step forward in the evolution of the global hydrogen market.” 

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 About AFC Energy

AFC Energy plc is a leading provider of hydrogen energy solutions, to provide clean electricity for on and off grid power applications. The Company’s fuel cell technology is now deployable as electric vehicle chargers, off-grid decentralised power systems for construction and temporary power with emerging opportunities across maritime, data centres and rail as part of a portfolio approach to the decarbonisation of society’s growing electrification needs.