Open Call: Demonstration of Scalable Ammonia Cracking Technology

Ammonia is an essential global commodity. Today, around 85% of all ammonia is used to produce synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and is responsible for around 45% of global hydrogen consumption, or around 33 Mt of hydrogen in 2020. Hydrogen production by ammonia cracking has received growing attention in recent years for several reasons: i) an established and complete supply chain with considerable growth due to the high supply and demand ammonia for several sectors, ii) ammonia cracking emits only nitrogen as a byproduct, iii) ammonia has attractive gravimetric and volumetric densities for hydrogen storage applications, allowing an easy transport with reduced cost.

While several projects have developed novel concepts for ammonia cracking technologies in recent years, the feasibility of up-scaling these technologies in terms of reactor design and hydrogen production rate to match industrial demand at various scales needs to be validated. This includes optimisation of thermal management, for instance, by considering integrating the cracking plant in a use-case scenario and implementing a modular approach to the cracking technology for rapid scale-up and deployment in various sectors.

The topic addresses the value chain from ammonia molecules to purified hydrogen for delivery in downstream applications. Hence, it addresses system design optimisation to reduce the energy consumption of cracking reactions and integrate it with purification/separation processes.

Scope

• The topic focuses on developing a highly efficient, modular and scalable cracking technology to convert ammonia into high-purity hydrogen to the specifications needed for specific applications and scales. The modular and scalable technology will enable cost-competitive and safe use of hydrogen in industrial and market sectors such as hard-to-decarbonise and off-grid power generation applications. The primary outcomes should be an innovative, low-cost, and compact technology enabling dynamic operations for energy-efficient hydrogen production, contributing to the overall objectives of the Clean Hydrogen JU SRIA to reduce hydrogen production and transport costs. The scope of this topic is to design, manufacture and demonstrate in an operational environment a system prototype for efficient ammonia cracking for at least 100 kg/day production.
• The topic should cover the following elements:
  • Design, fabrication and testing of a system (also modular) that enables process intensification and improved electrical and thermal integration to produce high-purity hydrogen that is compliant with the application it plans to address;
  • Novel catalyst and/or reactor design to improve efficiency and manufacturing, including if necessary, integrating novel separation processes to produce dry hydrogen, as well as potentially novel principles of the cracking/reforming process;
  • Ammonia cracking scale-up and efficient integration for power/heat generation and/or hydrogen utilisation;
  • Assess the integrity of materials exposed to ammonia with respect to corrosion and mechanical failure;
  • Design the cracking reactor and Balance of Plant components to ensure flexible operation of the system and for optimising economic energy usage;
  • Perform a safety assessment of the system and contribute to establishing a robust background and roadmap for standardisation;
  • Present a demonstration system running for at least 5000 hours and producing ≥100 kg H2/day;
  • Demonstrate the potential scalability of the developed technology into a plant size of up to 10 tonnes of H2/day, enhancements of the total process efficiency through techno-economic and life-cycle assessment and social analysis of the proposed technology (e.g. Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life-Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA), Life-Cycle and Sustainability Assessment (LCSA));
  • Provide a sustainability analysis establishing the impact of CSRM usage and path forward for its potential reduction.

Objectives

• Project results are expected to contribute to all the following objectives:
  • Total Cost of Ownership: <1.5 €/kgH2 delivered;
  • Ammonia dehydrogenation unit CAPEX <1000k€/(tonnesH2.day)
  • Demonstrate high tunability and a wide range of dynamic operations (30-100%) for several user cases;
  • The availability of the system should be no less than 90%;
  • Recovery rate of hydrogen should be > 80%.

Expected Outcomes

• To bring ammonia cracking technology to the next stage of maturity, project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
  • Provide breakthrough and game-changing technologies for hydrogen production by ammonia cracking;
  • Contribute to replicability and modular scalability of new ammonia cracking technology to enable future commercial applications at different scales;
  • Improve the efficiency of the ammonia conversion process also integrating purification of produced hydrogen;
  • Contribute to European technology leadership in ammonia cracking technology, integration of high-efficiency heat management, and hydrogen purification;
  • Improve and develop new business models of hydrogen production by ammonia cracking for various scales of production;
  • Contribute to the understanding of Europe’s needs in terms of infrastructure and regulation for managing the ammonia supply chain for hydrogen production;
  • Contribute to the sustainability of the European materials supply chain, strengthening the recyclability of CSRM (Critical and Strategic Raw Materials).

Eligibility Criteria

• Entities eligible to participate:
  • Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
  • A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
• To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
  • The Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
    • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

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