Reaction Engines

Reaction Engines has announced a joint venture to create lightweight, carbon-free ammonia reactors.

Reaction Engines, IP Group, and the UK Government funded Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) are joining forces to create a world leading decarbonisation technology company.

New venture will combine Reaction Engines’ heat exchanger technology developed for its SABRE™ air-breathing rocket engine, STFC’s leading ammonia catalyst expertise and funding from IP Group.

Collaboration will design and bring to market lightweight and compact cracking reactors for green ammonia, providing power and propulsion solutions for hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as transport and power infrastructure.

Reaction Engines to create carbon-free Reactors

At the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, Reaction Engines, IP Group and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) have announced the formation of a joint venture technology company to produce lightweight and compact ammonia cracker reactors for use in hard to decarbonise sectors.

The new joint venture will design and bring to market lightweight and compact ammonia reactors to enable the use of ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel for use in transport applications, such as aviation and marine shipping, in addition to other hard-to-decarbonise applications such as power generation, particularly ‘stranded grids’ or ‘off grid’ applications. The reactor will catalytically crack the ammonia into an easy to combust fuel for gas turbines and internal combustion engines.

The collaboration will combine Reaction Engines’ heat exchanger technology developed for its SABRE engine and currently being used in other technology applications, STFC’s leading expertise in developing ammonia catalyst technology, along with funding and venture-building expertise from IP Group.

Reaction Engines to create carbon-free Reactors

Commenting, Dr James Barth, Ammonia Programme Lead, Reaction Engines, said:

“I am thrilled to see the hard work we’ve been undertaking with our partners at STFC culminate in the formation of a new joint venture to bring to market decarbonisation technology solutions. Having IP Group’s backing for Reaction Engines’ first commercial spin-out is a huge vote of confidence in the compact, lightweight ammonia reactor technology we are developing. We are excited to work together to help decarbonise power and propulsion systems in transport, power generation, and other hard to abate sectors.”

Source: Reaction Engines