Japanese companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Nippon Shokubai have received approval for their jointly submitted proposal to develop ammonia cracking technology for Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO’s) ‘Development of Technologies for Building a Competitive Hydrogen Supply Chain’ project.
As explained, the selected initiative aims to develop technology for the construction of a hydrogen supply chain using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, promoting the advancement of medium-scale, decentralized ammonia cracking systems near hydrogen demand sites.
Reportedly, the project will advance ammonia cracking technology using steam and exhaust gases, employing an independently developed, low-temperature, highly active and durable ammonia cracking catalyst without the use of noble metals typically used in conventional low-temperature active catalysts. It is understood that the technology will be used to verify challenges toward practical application.
During the project period, MHI is expected to carry out the front-end engineering design (FEED) of the demonstration plant as well as finalize the plant’s specifications, aiming to resolve technical challenges necessary for commercialization, with support from compatriot Hokkaido Electric Power (HEPCO). As for Nippon Shokubai, the company is expected to promote the development of elemental technologies focused on verifying the durability of ammonia cracking catalysts.
In other news, a consortium comprising several Japanese companies and organizations was handpicked by NEDO to partake in a feasibility study program focused on new ammonia storage and transport solutions. Furthermore, Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ (MOL) Wind Hunter project, a zero-emission initiative that utilizes wind power to produce hydrogen, was selected to participate in a project to research the potential for achieving a hydrogen society.