Yanmar, Amogy enter MoU to explore ammonia-to-H2 integration

Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd. and Amogy, a provider of mature and scalable ammonia-to-power solutions, announced they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate Amogy’s advanced ammonia-cracking technology into Yanmar’s hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2 ICE).

Yanmar pilot injection six-cylinder hydrogen engine. (Illustration: Yanmar Power Solutions)

Collaboration between the two companies dates back to 2023 when Yanmar Ventures, Yanmar’s corporate venture capital arm, invested in Amogy. Since then, they have continued to explore opportunities to integrate their technologies.

The latest partnership will focus on providing low-cost hydrogen fuel for marine power generation. Amogy’s ammonia-cracking technology uses “state-of-the-art catalyst materials” to break down ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen at lower reaction temperatures with high durability. The result is reduced heating and maintenance requirements, the announcement stated.

Ken Kawabe, Group Leader at Yanmar Research and Development Center, said the company is excited to work with Amogy on the project. “Our commitment to a sustainable future aligns perfectly with this collaboration, and we believe that integrating Amogy’s ammonia-cracking technology with our H2 ICE has immense potential for decarbonizing marine power.”

Seonghoon Woo, CEO at Amogy, agreed, noting his company is “thrilled to collaborate with Yanmar in exploring the integration of our cutting-edge ammonia-cracking technology with their hydrogen internal combustion engines.” He believed that collaboration will be critical to advancing clean energy solutions, and that together the two companies “can overcome challenges and expedite sustainable progress in the marine sector.”

Yanmar and Amogy plan to build on their joint research to explore potential for collaboration in the development of maritime hydrogen fuel cell systems, as well.