Carbon-free, ammonia-based clean hydrogen production technology

Process Description

• High-purity hydrogen (99.97% or higher) is produced by feeding ammonia as a feedstock, separating it into nitrogen and hydrogen in a catalytic reactor, and then removing unreacted ammonia and nitrogen

• Unlike conventional hydrogen production processes using natural gas reforming, this process emits no CO₂ and features a simple process configuration, making it cost-effective

Key Features of the Technology

As the need for the introduction and utilization of clean hydrogen grows, ammonia is gaining attention as an economical hydrogen carrier, and there are plans to import ammonia produced overseas into Korea

• Ammonia cracking technology for high-purity hydrogen production is still in the early stages of development worldwide, necessitating the development of high-efficiency crackers and highly active, durable catalysts for ammonia-based clean hydrogen production

High-efficiency, compact ammonia cracker and process design technology

• Development of Korea’s first domestically produced design technology for a pressurized (8 atm) ammonia cracker suitable for 20 Nm³/h-class high-purity hydrogen production

• Achieved an ammonia decomposition rate of over 99% and a hydrogen production efficiency of 90% (LHV) through the optimization of an integrated system comprising an ammonia cracker, combustor, and heat exchanger

Development of a highly active ammonia cracking catalyst that reduces the use of precious metal catalysts

• Development of a metal-supported catalyst that reduces the amount of the precious metal Ru (ruthenium) to one-tenth that of commercial catalysts

• Development of a world-class, low-cost, highly active ammonia cracking catalyst (Ru/Ce/MgAl₂O₄)

Comparative Advantages of the Technology

Existing Technology

• Fossil fuels are used for ammonia cracking, so this cannot be considered a carbon-free hydrogen production technology.

• There are no verified cases of catalyst or reaction system stability in high-temperature ammonia decomposition reactions

This Technology

• Developed Korea’s first high-efficiency pressurized ammonia cracker for high-purity hydrogen production and verified its quality in the stack of the Nexo hydrogen fuel cell vehicle

• Developed Korea’s first ammonia-based carbon-free hydrogen production system and demonstrated its integration with a fuel cell

• Development of metal support catalyst coating technology (reducing Ru usage by 1/10) and an ammonia cracking catalyst with a world-class hydrogen production rate

Experimental and Demonstration Data

Ammonia cracking system with a high-purity hydrogen production capacity of 20 Nm³/h

• Structural design of an ammonia cracker incorporating next-generation metal-supported catalysts

• Optimal heat exchanger network design for a high-efficiency ammonia cracking system

• Quality verification completed (50 h) by supplying high-purity hydrogen to the Hyundai Nexo fuel cell stack

Ammonia Cracking Catalyst (Ru/MgAl₂O₄) Utilizing a Metal Scaffold

• Highly Dispersed Support of Active Metal on the Surface of a Complexly Structured Porous Metal Support

• Durability verification completed within 100 h in a 20 Nm³/h-class ammonia cracking system

Low-cost, high-efficiency ammonia cracking catalyst (Ru/Ce/MgAl₂O₄)

• Achieved low-temperature (450°C) ammonia cracking activity and high hydrogen production rate through the addition of a co-catalyst (Ce)

• Simple catalyst preparation and ease of large-scale production