Antwerp-Bruges ammonia cracking pilot plant

Commissioned in November 2025 in the port of Antwerp-Bruges, Belgium, Air Liquide describes this as the world's first industrial-scale pilot unit that produces hydrogen by cracking ammonia. It can convert 30 tons of ammonia into hydrogen per day. Gaseous ammonia goes into a catalytic cracking furnace heated to over 500°C, where it splits into hydrogen and nitrogen. The gases are then cooled and purified, and the hydrogen is separated, with no direct CO2 emissions. Air Liquide says its proprietary heat integration technology and next-generation reactor tubes give the highest possible ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion yield. The unit already includes all the technology components needed for a large-scale plant, and its test data will support the larger ENHANCE cracker and hydrogen liquefier project.