Reaction Engines Assembles UK Partners For Ammonia Fuel Project

The UK's Reaction Engines has announced a joint venture to create compact, lightweight ammonia reactors it says can be used to decarbonize difficult sectors like shipping and off-grid energy generation – and surprisingly, also aviation, Loz Blain reported for New Atlas.

Photo Insert: Ammonia aviation fuel may become a reality down the road.

Compared to hydrogen, ammonia is easier and cheaper to store and transport, and although it only carries about 20 percent as much energy as hydrogen by weight, it carries about 70 percent more energy than liquid H2 by volume.

The weight issue generally rules ammonia out of aviation discussions; at less than half the specific energy of jet fuel it looks less attractive than hydrogen. But hydrogen's volume issues must also be taken into account.

Today's airliners are built for jet fuel so retro-fitting large-volume long-range hydrogen tanks can mean you lose seats.

With that in mind, maybe ammonia becomes another option to put back on the table. And that's one of the things Reaction Engines has proposed in its new joint venture with IP Group and the UK-Government-funded Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

The partnership would use heat exchanger technology Reaction developed for its Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), designed for hypersonic and space travel applications – and combine it with STFC's work in ammonia catalysts.

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