Amogy eyes Japanese ammonia cracking deployments for hydrogen imports

Amogy is looking to deploy its ammonia cracking technology in Japan to support clean hydrogen imports into the country.

Under a new partnership with Japanese multi-industry conglomerate Kowa, the US-based ammonia cracking start-up will assess opportunities for ammonia to support the transportation, storage, and delivery of green hydrogen.

The pair will initially focus on potential deployments in Japan’s Chubu region.

Diverting from Amogy’s traditional activity, which centres on stationary power generation and maritime fuel, the agreement could advance Japan’s efforts to import hydrogen through carriers like ammonia and liquid hydrogen (LH2).

The country is increasingly looking to the molecule to decarbonise sectors like transportation and power generation. However, limited land availability and relatively low renewable penetration see it relying increasingly on low-cost exporting nations.

In 2024, it passed the , a 15-year subsidy scheme including imported low-carbon hydrogen and derivatives.

Earlier this year, the Jera and Mitsui as low-carbon hydrogen suppliers under the act, for the volumes of blue ammonia they are set to offtake from the 1.4 million tonnes-per-year Blue Point project in Louisiana, US.

Ammonia is an increasingly favoured carrier for transporting hydrogen, with proponents claiming it offers advantages over LH2, which must be kept at extremely low temperatures (–253ºC) to avoid boil-off losses.

However, it is often criticised for its energy-intensive cracking process.

In March, Amogy with Hoku Infrastructure to deploy its ammonia-to-hydrogen systems across Asia. The following month, it formed a with GS Engineering and Construction targeting the distributed power generation market.