According to company information, Höegh Evi and Wärtsilä Gas Solutions have completed the world's first floating ammonia cracker. According to an announcement on April 24, the technology enables ammonia transported by ship to be converted into hydrogen on floating import terminals. The project, which began in April 2023, is part of the Norwegian "Green Platform" funding program.
Flexible Capacity for Hydrogen Production at Sea
The facility has a delivery capacity of up to 210,000 tons of hydrogen per year. The ammonia storage capacity can vary between 10,000 m³ and 120,000 m³. The cracker also features a modular design, allowing it to be integrated into various floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and hydrogen terminals.
"The floating ammonia-to-hydrogen cracking plant is an important step for the hydrogen economy and energy transition in Europe," says Höegh Evi CEO Erik Nyheim. "Our floating terminals and cracking technology can unlock global value chains for green hydrogen and provide the European industry with clean energy supply within this decade."
Norwegian Funding Supports Development
The project received approximately 5.9 million euros in funding from the Norwegian government's Green Platform program – around 50% of the total budget. The ammonia cracker was built at the Norwegian Catapult Center by Sustainable Energy in Stord, Norway. Additional project partners include the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), the University of Southeast Norway, Sustainable Energy, and BASF.
"The future of energy must be green, and it is our task to be part of the technological development necessary to achieve this goal," says Håkon Haugli, CEO of Innovation Norway, the Norwegian trade promotion organization.
German Energy Supply through SEFE Cooperation
For the application of the technology, Höegh Evi had already agreed on a partnership with the German energy trader SEFE in January. The goal is to establish hydrogen supply chains to Germany. To this end, the companies want to identify locations for the floating "ammonia-to-hydrogen terminals" on the German Baltic Sea and North Sea coasts.
SEFE will be responsible for the procurement of ammonia and hydrogen distribution, while Höegh Evi provides the transport infrastructure and floating terminals. The hydrogen produced will then reach customers via hydrogen core network lines of SEFE subsidiary Gascade. A possible location has been known since July 2024: According to the operators, the world's first floating hydrogen terminal is to be established near Lubmin in cooperation with the German LNG terminal operator Deutsche ReGas.
According to the EU's REPower strategy, Europe plans to import 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen annually by 2030. Floating ammonia crackers could enable these imports on a larger scale. Höegh Evi is therefore involved in several terminal projects in Europe, which are targeted to start operations before 2030.
