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H₂Retake™- An ammonia cracking solution ready to go

H₂Retake™ enables energy producers worldwide to convert ammonia back into high-purity hydrogen efficiently and at the lowest levelized cost. 

Profit from decades of industrial experience in large-scale industrial ammonia cracking. Release the energy potential in ammonia through a solution that's efficient, flexible, and proven. 

Meet 96% energy efficiency

Are you in the market for the best conversion efficiency? H₂Retake stands out among other ammonia cracking technologies due to its market-leading energy efficiency of 96%

Within the H₂Retake process, energy input in the side-fired ammonia cracker is efficiently utilized to drive the decomposition reaction and effectively preheat and evaporate the raw feed with minimal wastage. The efficiency is achieved through a streamlined ammonia cracking design, optimized heat and off stream integration and careful selection of a catalyst.


The cost of the ammonia feed is the dominating cost of hydrogen from ammonia cracking. The optimized energy and hydrogen efficiency of H₂Retake will ensure the best possible business case for the ammonia cracking plant. 

The optimized heat integration in H₂Retake has eliminated the need for any cooling or stream generating system which further reduces the total investment needed to realize the plant.

A flexible and scalable solution

The application of ammonia cracking is versatile. It can be centralized and implemented on large to mega-scale, with the production of hydrogen then transported to its end-use location via a comprehensive hydrogen grid, as currently planned in Europe. 

Alternatively, it can be deployed in a decentralized, large-scale manner, located near major hydrogen consumers, potentially through local hydrogen grids.



H₂Retake provides a versatile approach in its scale and deployment, allowing companies flexibility regarding ammonia cracking capabilities. So, from decentralized off-take dedicated ammonia crackers to large-scale centralized ammonia crackers feeding hydrogen grids, our ammonia cracking set-up can be adapted to feed your requirements. 

Proven large-scale ammonia cracking

Topsoe offers the only industrially proven ammonia cracking technology available - a solution that is designed and optimized to perform exceptionally well under ammonia cracking conditions.

Largest reference plant: Arroyito, Argentina

Our largest plant in Arroyito, Argentina, with a capacity of up to 2 X 2,400 MTPD in two parallel lines, is a testament to our proven technology.

The core components of H₂Retake, catalyst technology, and supporting solutions put us in a unique market position to deliver process and catalyst guarantees.

Delve into the H₂Retake process

The core H₂Retake builds on our established side-fired cracking technology. Despite overall similarities in the design with conventional steam methane reformers, H₂Retake primarily differs in the choice of equipment materials, as these must tolerate harsh nitridation conditions in the ammonia cracker, and of course the catalyst. 

H₂Retake improves the overall ammonia cracking performance with high conversion rates, energy optimization, catalyst selection, process integration, and advanced technologies to ensure the most efficient pathway to a cost-efficient, large-scale clean hydrogen supply. 

Beyond the basics of the H₂Retake process


Delve deeper into the process...

• The ammonia feed is pumped to elevated pressure and then vaporized using process waste heat. At this pressure, ammonia is vaporized using process waste heat through the highly optimized heat integration of the process design. 
• The ammonia decomposition then begins in the pre-converter section by further integrating process waste heat into the product stream. This significantly reduces the fuel consumption of the fired cracker and maximizes the energy utilization from the flue gasses generated during firing 
• The ammonia decomposition is completed in the heart of the process, the side-fired cracker, which is then followed by separation and final purification steps to deliver the hydrogen at the required purity. 
• The entire process is underpinned by advanced heat, fuel and off-gas recovery and integration. In the flue gas section of the fired cracker, proven SCR solution ensure clean emissions meeting project requirements. 

Cracking on with a proven catalyst

Our long track record of developing and supplying industrially proven ammonia cracking catalysts means our products are operationally proven and outperform competitors in real-world industrial settings.

For H₂Retake, we recommend base metal catalysts, including the superior Topsoe proprietary iron-cobalt catalyst with unsurpassed performance and stability (DNK-2R).

Adding tailored nickel-based catalyst to our portfolio of ammonia cracking catalysts offers techno-economic optimization of the H₂Retake solution (DNK-20 and DNK-30). 

Thanks to the meticulous selection of structural and electronic promoters, our catalytic technology effectively mitigates the impact of water presence and ensures long term stable and efficient ammonia decomposition.