Hydrofuel and Colorado State University begin $1.5 Million US Green Ammonia (MAPS) Project

Hydrofuel Canada Inc. (“Hydrofuel”), a company engaged in the last mile production and delivery of Green Ammonia and Hydrogen to its customers, has now entered into a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Colorado State University (CSU) to bring Georgia Tech’s MAPS technology to market. This builds on Hydrofuel’s exclusive licensing agreement with Georgia Tech for the MAPS, signed in April 2022. The CRADA will provide funding to hire 12 researchers to work with 6 CSU Ph.D. students to complete a commercial demonstration of the technology.

“Georgia Tech has a rich history of developing innovations with the potential to have significant impact. Marketing these innovations and identifying qualified licensees is vital to unlocking their value,” said Dr. Kashmira Kulkarni, Licensing Associate in the office of Technology Licensing at Georgia Tech. The MAPS ammonia production technology uses hollow hybrid plasmonic nanocages to create a highly effective electrocatalyst for ammonia synthesis from nitrogen and electrolyzed water. It functions under ambient temperatures and pressure in the gas-and liquid-phase system.

Ammonia is a significant energy carrier and is an essential ingredient in fertilizer production globally, making the technology applicable to many agricultural practices. MAPS provides a sustainable and environmentally friendly production method that enables a high ammonia yield rate with unprecedented energy efficiency. MAPS decentralizes the production of ammonia while consuming significantly less energy than current methods. It could also be used to enable local or on-site production with renewable electricity sources and long-term energy storage.

The impact of this technology transfer begins with this license agreement, but that’s not the end,” said Dr. Reza Nazemi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State U. “It has made the next phase of R&D possible at CSU and is very likely to lead to further improvements in the MAPS system in combination with Hydrofuel’s technologies.”

Source: Nazemi, M. and El-Sayed, M.A., 2021. Managing the Nitrogen Cycle via Plasmonic (Photo) Electrocatalysis: Toward Circular Economy. Accounts of chemical research, 54(23), pp.4294-4304. (CNW Group/Hydrofuel Canada Inc.)

Technology development and pilot demonstrations at University of Colorado are expected to last approximately two years, followed by the first phase of commercial rollouts.

Hydrofuel plans to utilize MAPS decentralized ammonia production along with its previously acquired Kontak technology, that features highly efficient, low cost modules that can economically strip nitrogen from the ammonia, leaving pure hydrogen for heat, fuel, or electricity production. This will enable the production, storage, transportation and utilization of green hydrogen.

“Half of the energy of liquid fuels is currently lost between the well head and the fuel pump,” noted Hydrofuel CEO Greg Vezina. “The beauty of MAPS is that it lowers the production costs – less than any conventional or renewable hydrocarbon – which would allow more industries to look at green hydrogen and even allow up to 90% of the world’s countries to produce their own energy at a lower cost than imports. There is no question that this is a global game changer.” He added, “Our mission to provide Green Hydrogen from Ammonia with lower costs and life cycle pollution than any other fuel is being realized.”