Could ammonia decarbonise heavy transport?

This on-board system generates hydrogen at the point it's needed

Spotted: Hydrogen has increasingly been spotlighted as a central tool on the road to net zero, particularly in sectors where energy sources like solar and wind aren’t suitable, including in heavy industry or transportation. But, a key sticking point has been the cost and difficulty of storing and distributing it, given that hydrogen needs to be kept at either extremely high pressures or extremely low temperatures. Neology has an alternative.

The Swiss-based company has developed an Ammonia to Hydrogen Generation System (AHGS) that enables portable ammonia cracking for a safe and readily available hydrogen supply for the transportation industry. Ammonia (NH3) serves as a stable hydrogen energy carrier, which can be more easily stored and transported in liquid form than pure hydrogen.

When energy is required, the cracking technology extracts hydrogen from the ammonia. Then, the hydrogen is purified and used to supply an accompanying hydrogen fuel cell to generate energy. The idea is that hydrogen energy generation is brought as close as possible to the end user, meaning the plug-and-play system can be installed on board a heavy-duty vehicle, or at hydrogen refuelling stations.

In May this year, Neology created a vehicle demonstrator prototype to prove the effectiveness of its emissions-free technology. As Neology scales up its production, it could play a big role in transforming the historically hard-to-decarbonise aviation, shipping, and road freight industries.

Written By: Matilda Cox