Marvin Estenfelder, head of R&D at Clariant Catalysts, said the company has been involved in R&D and cross-industry collaborations in this area for many years and has already developed numerous catalysts for use in innovative hydrogen applications. “We are confident that together we will make it possible to recover pure hydrogen from ammonia in the scales required for efficient and safe mass transportation of hydrogen,” he said.

Although green hydrogen is an abundant and clean energy source, its high volatility and very low density make it difficult and expensive to transport. An economically viable method is to convert hydrogen to ammonia for transportation and release it at the point of use. The release is achieved by cracking (dissociation) of ammonia into hydrogen.

There are commercial processes and catalysts available currently, but at relatively high energy costs. AmmoRef aims to develop new catalysts and technologies for ammonia dissociation at lower energy costs and improved efficiency.

Clariant’s role is to develop new and improved generations of its existing ammonia cracking catalysts. It will be collaborating non-exclusively with industry partners BASF and ThyssenKrupp, as well as the Max Planck Institute and some German universities.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist