Ammonia cracking in the UK: AFC Energy and Industrial Chemicals Group announce new joint venture
By on August 06, 2025
Click to learn more. The new joint venture between AFC Energy and Industrial Chemicals Group Limited will acquire AFC’s pilot ammonia cracking facility in the UK (pictured). Source: AFC Energy.
AFC Energy and Industrial Chemicals Group Limited (ICL) have announced an agreement to form a 50:50 joint venture (JV) for hydrogen production via ammonia cracking. The venture will deploy AFC Energy’s proprietary ammonia cracking technology and leverage ICL’s extensive experience in ammonia procurement, logistics, and an existing customer base.
As part of the agreement, the new JV will initially acquire AFC Energy’s pilot ammonia cracking plant and hydrogen compression system in the fourth quarter of this year, with initial revenues expected in early 2026. AFC’s new containerised ammonia cracker technology, the Hy-5, will also be sold to the joint venture once it is ready for commercial production. AFC’s pilot facility will initially generate up to 400kg/day of hydrogen, followed by incremental capacity increases through deployment of the Hy-5 technology.
The establishment of the JV with ICL is an exciting step in delivering our strategy to deliver commercial viability of the hydrogen economy, without reliance on Government subsidies. We have been working with ICL for some time to develop the JV and are delighted to collaborate with a partner of ICL’s capability and experience to deliver low-cost hydrogen at a market disruptive price. In anticipation of regular imports of green ammonia becoming widely available in the UK from 2027, the JV is well positioned to take advantage of the relative ease with which ammonia can be stored in low-cost and low pressure liquified gas tanks compared to high capital costs in storing hydrogen and further benefit from significant cost advantages versus UK production from electrolysis.
John Wilson, AFC Energy CEO, London Stock Exchange, 4 July 2025
Hy-5: modular, low-cost high purity hydrogen production
Click to learn more. AFC Energy’s Hy-5 containerised ammonia cracking system. Source: AFC Energy.
Hy-5 by AFC Energy (via its Hyamtech brand) is a containerised module with a 500 kg/day hydrogen production capacity, set for delivery from 2026. The module will be as a “plug and play” under a “fuel as a service with onsite hydrogen priced at £10/kg” which, according to AFC Energy, undercuts current market rates government subsidies inclusive.
The cracker will produce hydrogen with a purity of over 99.9% and under 0.1% ppm of ammonia in the feed stream. This makes it compatible with the S and S+ series hydrogen fuel cell generators also by AFC Energy.
The product is designed to serve hydrogen fuel cell generators, refuelling stations, industrial burners and industrial manufacturing facilities e.g. refining, steel, cement, ceramics, glass, chemicals production, e-fuels production).
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.
John Wilson, AFC Energy CEO in his organisation’s official press release, 19th March 2025