Hydrogen Production from Ammonia Electrochemical Cracking

Utilizing NH₃ as a H₂ carrier has been proposed to address the storage and transportation bottlenecks of the green hydrogen supply chain. NH₃ thermal cracking is a conventional technique for H₂ recovery after transport, but its infrastructure-intensive nature limits its application in decentralized H₂ production scenarios. Consequently, ammonia electrolysis, coined "e-cracking" in this article, is proposed as a complementary technique for such scenarios. This emerging technique couples hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with ammonia oxidation reaction (AOR), which was previously studied in the context of ammonia fuel cells. While thermal cracking has been extensively investigated regarding catalyst development and economic feasibility, e-cracking is at an early stage and lacks such efforts, as reflected by its lower technology readiness level (TRL). To bridge this gap, this Perspective provides a comprehensive analysis of e-cracking addressing both aspects. We begin with an overview of catalyst development for both techniques and then conduct a techno-economic analysis (TEA) based on reported performance data. By comparing the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH), we demonstrate e-cracking's theoretical potential for lower costs and identify the current limitations arising from catalytic performance. Finally, we provide an outlook on research directions and strategies to advance NH₃ e-cracking toward practical implementation.