Earlier in 2026, Amogy and 2G Energy tested hydrogen made from ammonia without storing the gas. 3 years later, their South Korea project is planned to scale from 1 MW to 40 MW

Earlier in 2026, Amogy and 2G Energy tested a power-generation system that used ammonia as the starting fuel rather than storing hydrogen gas in large quantities. Amogy’s technology first broke ammonia molecules into hydrogen and nitrogen, producing a hydrogen-rich gas that could then be supplied to a 2G engine. The significance of the test was not simply that ammonia could be converted into hydrogen, but that the conversion and power-generation steps could be brought together in a practical system. It offered a glimpse of how ammonia might act as a more manageable carrier for hydrogen in future energy infrastructure.

Amogy’s Ammonia-to-Power Technology Moves From a 2026 Demonstration Toward a 40 MW Project in South Korea

Amogy and German engine maker 2G Energy completed an integrated ammonia-to-power test on August 3. The demonstration took place at Amogy's Houston facility, where the companies connected two different technologies. Amogy supplied its ammonia reformer, while 2G supplied an Agenitor 412 reciprocating engine-generator. Together, the equipment converted ammonia into a hydrogen-rich fuel stream and generated electricity.

The important achievement was the integration, rather than ammonia cracking itself. The companies needed fuel delivery, controls and engine operation to work together reliably. During testing, the reformer produced the hydrogen-rich stream needed by the engine. Amogy and 2G said the system met key performance metrics required for potential commercial deployments.


The Houston test does not prove that ammonia can replace natural gas economically everywhere. It shows that the reactor and engine can function together as one power system. The companies now plan further optimization while exploring possible customer projects.

Ammonia is made from nitrogen and hydrogen, giving it the chemical formula NH₃. An ammonia cracker uses heat and a catalyst to break ammonia molecules into hydrogen and nitrogen. The resulting hydrogen-rich gas can then supply equipment designed to run on hydrogen. Amogy says its technology directs that produced gas toward integrated fuel cells or hydrogen engines.

That approach tackles one of hydrogen's practical problems. Hydrogen is useful, but storing and moving large quantities requires specialized infrastructure. Ammonia is already produced, transported and stored globally for fertilizer and industrial uses. Using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier could therefore build on an existing supply network.

The climate argument is more complicated than the machinery suggests. The International Energy Agency says just over 70% of ammonia production uses natural-gas-based steam reforming. That means conventional ammonia can carry significant emissions before reaching an energy facility.

Why does Texas make this experiment especially interesting?

Texas has become one of America's biggest battlegrounds for electricity demand from data centers. ERCOT reported roughly 410 gigawatts of large-load projects seeking interconnection in April. About 87% of that tracked demand came from data centers, according to the grid operator.

That demand creates a practical problem for companies building massive computing facilities. A data center can finish buildings and servers before the surrounding grid is ready. On-site generation offers another route, allowing operators to produce some electricity behind the meter. Natural-gas generators already fill that role, making fuel flexibility particularly interesting.

The AMMDrive system was designed around that exact flexibility. The engine can operate using natural gas while also accepting hydrogen-rich fuel made from ammonia. The companies describe that arrangement as a possible transition path between today's gas supply and future low-carbon ammonia.

What makes the engine important?

The 2G machine is not a one-off experimental engine built only for this demonstration. The Agenitor platform is part of 2G's established reciprocating engine technology portfolio. The company says its systems can operate on hydrogen, natural gas, biogas and other gases across different applications.

That gives the Houston project a different character from a laboratory experiment. Amogy's reactor handles the chemical conversion, while 2G's engine handles familiar power-generation machinery. The companies are effectively combining an emerging fuel-processing technology with established engine equipment. That could make commercial deployment easier if performance and economics hold up.

The system can also operate as combined heat and power, according to the companies. That means an installation could produce electricity while recovering useful thermal energy. For large facilities, using both outputs could improve the overall value of the equipment.

Is ammonia actually a clean energy source?

Not by itself, and that distinction could decide whether this technology succeeds. Ammonia contains no carbon, so cracking it does not create carbon dioxide from the ammonia molecule itself. But producing conventional ammonia can generate substantial emissions because fossil fuels supply much of the industry's energy and hydrogen.

The IEA describes ammonia production as an emissions-intensive industrial process. Its 2021 roadmap estimated direct production emissions at about 450 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. It also identified emerging lower-emission routes involving electrolysis, methane pyrolysis and carbon capture.

That leaves Amogy's system dependent on its fuel source for the strongest climate benefits. Ammonia produced with lower-carbon methods could provide a cleaner energy carrier. Ammonia made conventionally from natural gas would preserve much of the upstream emissions problem.

The companies are now moving beyond the basic integration test. They say they will continue optimizing the reformer and engine combination for commercial deployments. They are also exploring customer opportunities in the United States, Asia and other markets.

Why Ammonia is being Considered as a Hydrogen Carrier

Hydrogen has a high energy content by mass, but its low volumetric energy density makes storage and transportation technically demanding. It is commonly compressed to very high pressures or handled in liquid form at extremely low temperatures. Both approaches require specialized equipment and consume energy. Ammonia behaves differently because it can be stored and transported using established industrial infrastructure, making it an attractive candidate for carrying hydrogen over longer distances.

The advantage becomes clearer when the molecules are considered rather than simply the fuels. Ammonia contains about 17.6% hydrogen by mass, so it can effectively function as a chemical package for transporting hydrogen. At the destination, an ammonia-cracking system can recover that hydrogen for use in fuel cells, engines or other equipment. The process introduces its own energy penalty and technical challenges, but it could offer an alternative where direct hydrogen transport is difficult or expensive.

What the Amogy and 2G Energy Test Demonstrated

The 2026 demonstration with 2G Energy focused on the point where hydrogen production and electricity generation meet. Amogy’s system converted ammonia into a hydrogen-rich gas, which was then supplied to a modified engine designed to operate with hydrogen-based fuel. This matters because an ammonia-to-power system has to do more than produce hydrogen in a laboratory reactor. The gas must be generated at a controlled rate and quality that a power-generation system can actually use.

That integration is one of the more interesting engineering aspects of the technology. Electricity demand changes over time, while an ammonia cracker has its own thermal and catalytic operating conditions. A commercially useful system therefore needs to manage the relationship between ammonia conversion, hydrogen production and engine operation. The demonstration provided evidence that these components can be integrated, although a demonstration is still very different from proving long-term performance at industrial scale.

South Korea Project Starts at 1 MW and Targets 40 MW

Amogy’s separate South Korean project takes the same broader ammonia-to-power concept into a considerably larger setting. The project in Pohang involves Amogy, GS Engineering & Construction, Amun Energy and HD Hyundai Infracore, with an initial target of 1 MW and plans to scale the system toward 40 MW by 2029. The 1 MW stage is important because it provides an opportunity to evaluate the technology under real operating conditions before committing to a much larger installation.

Scaling from 1 MW to 40 MW is not simply a matter of multiplying the equipment. Larger systems introduce questions about heat management, ammonia handling, hydrogen purity, catalyst lifetime, system efficiency and the reliability of the power-generation equipment. The economics also become more complicated because the cost of ammonia, electricity production, maintenance and any required hydrogen purification all affect the final cost of the generated power. These are the factors that will determine whether ammonia-to-power technology can move beyond demonstrations.

The Science Still Has Some Difficult Problems to Solve

Ammonia cracking is chemically feasible, but the process requires energy because the ammonia molecule must be broken apart before its hydrogen can be used. Catalysts can reduce the temperature and energy requirement of the reaction, but catalyst performance, durability and system design remain important engineering considerations. Any unconverted ammonia must also be carefully controlled because ammonia is toxic and can cause problems for downstream equipment if it enters the engine or exhaust system in significant quantities.

There is also a larger question about where the ammonia comes from. If ammonia is produced using renewable electricity and low-carbon hydrogen, the resulting fuel pathway can potentially reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. If conventional fossil-fuel-based hydrogen is used to make the ammonia, much of that climate advantage can be lost. For this reason, the environmental value of ammonia-to-power technology depends not only on the cracker and engine, but on the entire supply chain that produces, transports and ultimately converts the ammonia.

The importance of these projects is therefore less about replacing hydrogen with ammonia and more about finding another way to move hydrogen through the energy system. Ammonia can be transported in a form that is already familiar to the global chemical industry, while hydrogen can be generated only when and where it is required. That could be useful for locations where direct hydrogen infrastructure is difficult to establish, particularly industrial sites with access to ammonia supplies.

The 1 MW-to-40 MW plan in South Korea will provide a much more demanding test of that proposition. If the technology can maintain reliable ammonia conversion, suitable hydrogen quality and competitive power-generation efficiency as it grows, it could strengthen the case for ammonia as a practical hydrogen carrier. The scientific question is no longer simply whether ammonia can be cracked into hydrogen. The harder question is whether the entire process can be made efficient, durable and economical enough to operate as a real power system.