Ammonia could power ships, industries with 70% more efficient tech

Amogy, a company founded by four MIT alumni, has developed a novel catalyst that can split ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen with up to 70% greater efficiency than current technologies. Unlike traditional ammonia combustion, Amogy’s system converts ammonia directly to power without burning it, thereby avoiding harmful nitrous oxide emissions. This technology is scalable and designed to power large-scale applications such as ships, trucks, maritime shipping, power generation, construction, and mining, leveraging ammonia’s higher power density compared to renewables and batteries. The company has secured a manufacturing contract with Samsung Heavy Industries and plans to deploy a 1-megawatt ammonia-to-power pilot project in Pohang, South Korea, in 2026, with ambitions to scale up to 40 megawatts by 2028 or 2029. Amogy’s innovation centers on new catalyst materials that operate efficiently at lower temperatures, enabling smaller, more cost-effective systems that do not require combustion or produce CO2. The technology has been demonstrated