AFC takes next step with portable hydrogen ‘cracker’

Hydrogen fuel cell specialist AFC Energy has developed a portable ‘cracking module’ to produce hydrogen from ammonia.

The containerised Hy-5 unit - not available until 2026 - will create hydrogen for use with fuel cell generators, hydrogen powered construction machinery, or as part of an electric vehicle charging station.

An AFC Energy hydrogen fuel cell generator.

The units, which will be sold under the Hyamtec brand, will produce 500kg/day and offered as a ‘plug and play’ and ‘fuel as a service’ (FaaS) model, with the headline cost of on-site hydrogen at £10/kg.

The UK company said the module will produce hydrogen at greater than 99.9% purity, with less than 0.1% ppm of ammonia in the feed stream. The hydrogen will be compatible with AFC’s Energy S and S+ hydrogen fuel cell generators, with a power consumption <9.5kWh/kg.

AFC said ammonia is used and transported at scale around the world, and would provide Hy-5 with global opportunities to offer “a highly compact, self-contained footprint for hydrogen generation.”

John Wilson, the recently appointed chief executive of AFC Energy, said; “Lack of infrastructure and the high cost of hydrogen production are seen as the biggest challenges to scaling the hydrogen industry.

“With the launch of Hy-5, AFC Energy has removed these, launching on-site supply at a market disruptive price point.”

The launch announcement came as AFC issued its annual results for 2024, with revenues of £4 million to 31 October 2024. That revenue was generated by sales of 20kW and 30kW fuel cell generators to Speedy Hydrogen Solutions, its rental joint venture with Speedy Hire. AFC said the deployment of these generators was commencing in the “near time”.

In the results announcement, Wilson said; “We continue to see significant opportunity in our fuel cell technology. Through our joint venture with Speedy Hire, we’ve gained valuable deployment experience and market insight, and a more cost-effective hydrogen supply will unlock significant growth.

“We now see a clear path to lowering generator costs and deploying scalable, modular systems that address the diverse demands of our customers.

“Together, our ammonia cracking and fuel cell technologies give us the ability to offer a fully integrated, zero-emission alternative to diesel generators - one that we believe will be competitive not just on sustainability grounds, but also on cost.”