Under a Memorandum of Understanding, they plan to evaluate ruthenium ammonia cracking catalysts within KBR green and blue hydrogen production platforms. The two North American companies plan for commercial deployment in offshore and industrial applications.
KBR plans to complement its hydrogen portfolio with Amogy’s systems. In particular, the company highlighted its H2KPlus blue hydrogen SMR platform and H2ACT ammonia-to-hydrogen solution.
Ammonia catalysts make it easier and more efficient to crack ammonia into hydrogen at lower temperatures.
KBR aims to make its hydrogen platforms more attractive to customers by upgrading its ammonia cracking offering and expanding into a new market.
Used to produce fertilisers, ammonia is also viewed as a practical global carrier for hydrogen as it’s easier to store and ship and can utilise existing global infrastructure.
“KBR’s leadership in hydrogen technology makes them an ideal partner as we work to scale ammonia’s role as a global hydrogen carrier,” said Seonghoon Woo, Amogy’s CEO.
As it scales up, Amogy’s Maciek Lukawski told H2 View its focus will be on maritime applications and stationary power, typically as a replacement for diesel gensets.
“We see the biggest advantage in easily accessible, low-cost, high-energy-density fuel for our customers,” he explained. “Our systems will then be deployed in a range of applications, with our main product being a completely integrated ammonia-to-power product.”
Amogy: Our first maritime demonstration will be our last
Amogy’s 2024 voyage of its ammonia-powered tugboat down the Hudson River was a first-of-its-kind demonstration. However, it will be the company’s last.
That’s because the Brooklyn-headquartered ammonia-to-power solutions provider will now be focusing solely on commercial deployments, according to Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Maciek Lukawski.
The voyage of the retrofitted tugboat, originally constructed in 1957, showed that the firm’s technology – which cracks ammonia into nitrogen and hydrogen on board, with hydrogen being used in a fuel cell – could be deployed into real-world maritime applications.
It was a feat carried out despite Amogy having never retrofitted a vessel before. The effort was supported by close work with class societies, an ammonia producer and a naval architect, Lukawski said.
H2 View subscribers can continue reading here.