South Korean chemical manufacturer Lotte Chemical and U.S. technology company Syzygy Plasmonics have commissioned and completed performance testing of an all-electric ammonia cracking system in Ulsan, South Korea.
With shipping and logistical support from Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation Group, Lotte installed Syzygy’s Rigel reactor cell at its facility in Ulsan, completed plant construction in early November and field testing in December 2024. Syzygy provided onsite and remote support for plant commissioning.
Following KOSHA certification and installation, the Rigel cell immediately hit desired performance levels and operated “flawlessly” throughout all phases of the trial, Syzygy claimed, adding that by manipulating flowrate and light intensity during separate testing phases, the cell produced “all-time best” achievements of 11 kWh/kg, 81% energy efficiency, 99% conversion and 290 kg/d of hydrogen.
Syzygy said that data from this trial gives the company a clear pathway to achieve 8 kWh/kg of hydrogen at the cell level in future Rigel cell designs. Furthermore, the results, reportedly, prove the viability of using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier and set the stage for energy-importing regions like Korea to engage in clean ammonia imports.
“While many agree that low-carbon hydrogen will play a major role in reducing global emissions, transporting it to energy importing countries is difficult and costly because it must be compressed, liquified, and transported at -423°F(-253°C). Combining nitrogen with low-carbon hydrogen from regions with ready access to renewable electricity yields low-carbon ammonia, which is easier to store and transport. When it arrives on location, the ammonia can be cracked with Syzygy’s Ammonia e-Cracking™ systems to provide the low-carbon hydrogen energy importers need. Successful testing of this technology sets the stage for opening the hydrogen economy,” Syzygy noted.
Suman Khatiwada, Co-Founder and CTO at Syzygy, commented: “Lotte and Syzygy made history with this project. This is the breakthrough that Korea, Japan, and Eastern Europe have been waiting for. They now have an efficient, proven way to crack imported ammonia for hydrogen. We are incredibly grateful to Lotte and Sumitomo Corporation Group for having the vision and showing the leadership to advance technologies like ours that hold the key to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors. And we are proud of the Syzygy team. Their talent, commitment, and drive are unmatched. The next step is small commercial plant deployment.”
Hans Shin, Project Manager at Lotte Chemical, stated: “We look forward to working on commercializing this technology in South Korea. Over the coming years we plan to work with Syzygy to identify a good application for building a small commercial plant together, which will be a big step towards meeting South Korea’s growing hydrogen needs.”
To note, this trial builds on a joint development agreement between Syzygy, Lotte and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) signed in 2022. At the time, the companies revealed intent to test a fully electric chemical reactor for clean hydrogen production.