About AmmoniaSOFC
Achieving a net-zero future needs clean and scalable alternatives to fossil fuels. Green ammonia, as a hydrogen carrier, is emerging as one of the practical answers to this global challenge.
With its high energy-density and carbon-free nature, green ammonia offers significant logistical advantages over hydrogen. It can be stored, transported and traded using existing infrastructure, including dedicated carriers, port terminals, and established global distribution networks.
When used in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), ammonia can be converted directly into electricity through an electrochemical process, with nitrogen and water as the only byproducts.
The AmmoniaSOFC programme is developing the science and technology needed to transform this potential into a practical, scalable reality for the maritime industry and beyond.
The challenge
Using ammonia directly in a solid oxide fuel cell is not straightforward. Ammonia introduces complex chemical reactions that can degrade the materials inside the cell over time.
The conventional nickel-based fuel electrode (anode) is particularly vulnerable under ammonia at high temperatures, limiting its performance and long-term durability. Understanding and mitigating these degradation mechanisms is one of the central scientific challenges of our programme. We are also working to develop new materials, catalysts and cell designs that can withstand the demands of ammonia operation while maintaining long-term efficiency.
Our research work packages
Our programme is structured around four interconnected work packages, moving from fundamental materials science through to full cell testing.
Our research themes
- WP1: New Materials Discovery
- WP2: Advanced Materials Characterisation
- WP3: Direct Ammonia SOFC (Mini-Tube)
- WP4: Direct Ammonia PCFC (Button Cell)
Finding better materials is where it all begins.
We are exploring two promising classes of electrode materials: high entropy alloys – materials containing four or more elements that offer an exceptionally large compositional design space – and novel oxynitride/nitride-based materials that have shown strong experimental potential but are not yet fully understood.
A combination of computational methods is used, including density functional theory and machine learning, to understand the mechanisms, to screen candidate materials and to identify the most promising directions before committing to laboratory synthesis.
This approach dramatically reduces the time and cost of materials discovery.
Understanding how materials behave at the microscopic level is essential to developing SOFCs with higher performance. In addition, SOFC systems contain a complex network of interfaces, each of which plays a role in how the cell performs and degrades over time.
We use a range of advanced chemical, structural and microstructural characterisation techniques to examine how the materials and interfaces evolve under real operating conditions. This fundamental understanding enables the rational design of more durable and efficient electrodes.
This work package builds on the relatively mature platform of oxide-ion-conducting SOFCs, to achieve efficient, durable, and reliable operation with ammonia as the fuel.
Mini-tubular cells are fabricated using slip casting and dip coating methods, which serve as the baseline experimental platform. We then run integrated experimental and computational studies to understand how ammonia reacts at conventional nickel-based anodes, and how degradation occurs.
Iron-group catalysts and high entropy alloys will also be introduced into the anode to enhance catalytic activity and extend operational lifetime.
Protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) are a particularly promising technology for direct ammonia operation. Unlike oxide-ion-conducting cells, PCFCs avoid fuel dilution at the anode and improve efficiency.
However, their performance at lower operating temperatures is currently limited by the slow rate of ammonia decomposition and hydrogen oxidation. Maintaining the stability of barium-containing electrolytes is also a significant challenge.
This work package develops a deeper understanding of the electrode and electrolyte mechanisms in PCFCs, with the aim of improving both performance and long-term stability under ammonia operating conditions.