Green hydrogen has been identified as ‘the’ alternative to fossil fuels. It can be produced almost anywhere in the world as long as there is a source of renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro etc.). In Western Europe, the Netherlands for example, there is unfortunately not enough renewable energy available to cover the entire demand. Importing hydrogen from all over the world is however very complex and has many disadvantages. Escher Process Modules – part of Iv-Groep – therefore developed a technology for the decentralized production of green hydrogen from ammonia, which serves as a hydrogen carrier.
The technology developed by Escher ‘cracks’ the ammonia converting the ammonia back into hydrogen and nitrogen, subsequently the hydrogen and nitrogen are separated from each other to produce hydrogen. The produces hydrogen Is 99.999% pure, which makes it suitable fuel for fuel cells. Compared to traditional production of hydrogen through electrolysis, this process requires only one twelfth of the required energy. Approximately 80% of the atmosphere is already made up out of nitrogen, hence the produced nitrogen from the process can be safely emitted without negative climate effects. When using renewable energy for the cracking process, the production can even be made entirely green.