Mitsubishi and Amogy announce ammonia cracking plans

Mitsubishi Corporation and the sustainable energy startup Amogy announced on Wednesday that they have formed a strategic partnership with a view to expediting the adoption of Amogy’s ammonia-to-power and ammonia cracking technology in large-scale hydrogen-carrier applications in East Asia, especially in Japan and South Korea.

The two companies said that, alongside South Korea’s SK Innovation, they will carry out a joint study to evaluate the viability of a large-scale deployment of Amogy’s technology and to explore opportunities for market expansion across the ammonia and hydrogen supply chain. They added that, after this, all three parties will consider joint pilot opportunities in East Asia.

The press release noted that Amogy’s technology enables the efficient decomposition, or ‘cracking’, of ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen at receiving sites. The process uses a catalyst and captures the hydrogen, funneling it into a fuel cell to generate power. The technology ensures that hydrogen can be safely and efficiently shipped over long distances using ammonia as the carrier while making use of existing global infrastructure.

The companies pointed out that Japan and Korea, which lack renewable resources, must rely on imports of low-carbon fuels. Both countries view ammonia as an attractive and commercially viable hydrogen carrier and plan to use it to decarbonize their power generation, industrial heat generation, and maritime shipping in the coming years.