Experimental Exploration of An Ammonia Cracking Power Generation System for Electric Aircraft Propulsion

Chiu Shek Wong; Zaixing Wang; Shuvra Saha; Haoyu Zhao; Yashan Lin; Song Cheng; Jie Mei; Wing Wa Chan; Shu Chuen Ip; Junkui Mao; Ka Wai Eric Cheng; Molly Meng-Jung Li

doi:10.1016/j.eng.2026.02.021

Engineering ›› :202602021 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2026.02.021

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Experimental Exploration of An Ammonia Cracking Power Generation System for Electric Aircraft Propulsion

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Abstract

The aviation sector faces growing pressure to reduce carbon emissions, and electric propulsion systems (EPS) based on proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) provide a promising path toward sustainable, zero-carbon aviation. However, challenges related to hydrogen storage and transport have hindered the practical implementation of such systems. Ammonia (NH₃), with high energy density, convenient storage and transport, and carbon neutrality, has emerged as an attractive hydrogen carrier. This study proposes and experimentally validates a compact NH₃ cracking power generation system tailored for EPS through laboratory-scale exploration, engineering-scale validation, and system-level evaluation. The system delivers a maximum power output of 30 kW and comprises a custom-designed multifunctional NH₃ cracking reactor with integrated heat recovery, a temperature swing adsorption (TSA) purification unit, and PEMFC stacks. To meet practical application needs, this study screens and optimizes a commercially available 1% Ru-Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst, achieving over 99% NH₃ conversion under realistic conditions. The TSA unit reduces NH₃ concentration to below the detection limit, ensuring stable PEMFC performance with a single-stack maximum power output of 5.3 kW. Simulation results further show that the multi-stage thermal management increases the propulsion usable net electrical efficiency to 20.52%, and further raises the overall energy efficiency to 28.33% when the low-grade recovered heat is assumed fully usable. The optimized system achieves a gravimetric energy density of 692.7  W·h·kg⁻¹ and a hydrogen storage capacity of 6.7 wt% when equipped with five NH₃ tanks, each containing 22.7 kg of NH₃. This work demonstrates an NH₃-powered PEMFC EPS for aviation, offering both experimental validation and theoretical guidance for NH₃-fueled propulsion technologies. The study provides system-level insights into design, integration, and performance optimization, supporting the future development of electrified aviation and related zero-carbon distributed energy systems.

Keywords

Electric propulsion system / Ammonia cracking / Catalyst optimization / Thermal management / Energy efficiency

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Chiu Shek Wong, Zaixing Wang, Shuvra Saha, Haoyu Zhao, Yashan Lin, Song Cheng, Jie Mei, Wing Wa Chan, Shu Chuen Ip, Junkui Mao, Ka Wai Eric Cheng, Molly Meng-Jung Li. Experimental Exploration of An Ammonia Cracking Power Generation System for Electric Aircraft Propulsion. Engineering 202602021 DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2026.02.021

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