Wärtsilä, Höegh Evi Complete Development of World’s First Floating Ammonia-to-Hydrogen Cracker
Wärtsilä Gas Solutions and Höegh Evi have successfully completed development of the world’s first floating ammonia-to-hydrogen cracker. This technology enables floating import terminals to produce hydrogen at industrial-scale volumes from transported ammonia, marking a step in the energy transition. The project was announced in April 2023 and is part of Norway’s green platform program.
The industrial-scale ammonia cracker has a modular design that allows integration into both hybrid Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) and dedicated Floating Hydrogen Terminals.
The technology is highly scalable with a sendout capacity of up to 210,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually. Ammonia storage can range from 10,000m³ to 120,000m³.
The project has received approximately USD$6.7 million (EUR 5.9 million) in funding from the Norwegian Government’s green platform program, representing approximately 50% of the total budget. The ammonia cracker was constructed at Sustainable Energy’s Norwegian Catapult Center in Stord, Norway. Additional partners in the project include the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), University of South-East Norway, Sustainable Energy and BASF SE.
Innovation Norway is the Norwegian trade promotion organization, and is partly responsibility for the allocation of funds within the Green Platform program.
According to the EU’s REPower strategy, Europe plans to import 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year by 2030. As the development of the hydrogen grid progresses, floating infrastructure with ammonia cracking technology can unlock large-scale imports, supplying hard-to-abate industries with a stable baseload energy source and balance within the energy system.
