Ammonia Cracking 2025: How Johnson Matthey’s Strategic Pivot is Shaping the Hydrogen Market

Industry Adoption: Johnson Matthey’s Shift from Technology Development to Market Domination in Ammonia Cracking

Between 2021 and 2024, Johnson Matthey (JM) laid the foundational groundwork for its role in the hydrogen economy, positioning itself as a core technology licensor for ammonia cracking. The strategy was to build an ecosystem, not just a product. This period was defined by the formation of crucial partnerships with industrial heavyweights like Doosan Enerbility and thyssenkrupp Uhde to co-develop integrated solutions connecting ammonia cracking to end-use applications, such as power generation for Doosan’s 380 MW hydrogen turbine. The focus was on de-risking the technology on paper and proving the viability of large-scale, integrated flowsheets leveraging JM’s deep catalyst expertise with its KATALCO™ series.

The year 2025 marks a dramatic inflection point. The strategy has shifted from methodical development to aggressive commercial focus, crystallized by the landmark £1.8 billion divestment of its Catalyst Technologies business to Honeywell. This move freed up significant capital and streamlined the company to concentrate on high-growth hydrogen technologies, with ammonia cracking at the forefront. This pivot is validated by a rapidly maturing market. While JM was building its strategic base, the industry provided critical proof points: successful pilots by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and a Lotte Chemical-led consortium demonstrated the technical feasibility of ammonia cracking. The most significant signal of impending adoption came from Uniper’s framework agreement with thyssenkrupp Uhde to license technology for up to six large-scale ammonia cracking plants. This transforms the opportunity from theoretical to tangible, creating a multi-billion-dollar addressable market. JM’s broadening ambition is evident in its participation in the APOLO project for maritime decarbonization and the opening of a dedicated Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H₂ICE) facility, signaling a multi-pronged attack on various end-markets. The primary threat has evolved from technological uncertainty to intense commercial competition for these first-of-a-kind contracts.

Table: Johnson Matthey’s Strategic Investments and Divestments (2025)

Table: Johnson Matthey’s Key Ammonia and Hydrogen Partnerships (2021-2025)

Geography: Johnson Matthey’s Global Blueprint for Ammonia Cracking

Between 2021 and 2024, Johnson Matthey’s geographic focus was highly strategic, targeting key industrial regions poised for an energy transition. The partnership with Doosan Enerbility firmly anchored its ambitions in South Korea, an energy-importing nation with a clear government mandate for hydrogen. Simultaneously, the Memorandum of Understanding with Germany’s thyssenkrupp Uhde established a critical presence in Europe, targeting the continent’s industrial decarbonization drive. This phase was about planting flags in regions with both the political will and industrial infrastructure to become early adopters.

From 2025 onwards, the geographic landscape has exploded from a few strategic points to a truly global theater of operations. JM’s activities now span across Europe, with the H₂ICE facility opening in Sweden and its participation in the pan-European APOLO project. Crucially, the market itself is globalizing. Technical validation is coming from Japan (MHI’s Nagasaki pilot) and South Korea (Lotte’s Ulsan pilot), while major commercial demand is being signaled from Germany via the Uniper-thyssenkrupp agreement. This geographic diversification demonstrates that ammonia cracking is no longer a niche concept but a key strategy for international energy trade. However, this expansion introduces new risks. The success of large-scale European import projects, such as those planned by Air Products and Uniper, now hinges on the timely implementation of regional regulations like RED III, making policy execution a critical variable for JM’s addressable market.

Technology Maturity: Johnson Matthey’s Path from Design to Deployment

During the 2021-2024 period, Johnson Matthey’s ammonia cracking technology was primarily in the advanced engineering and integrated design phase. While its KATALCO™ catalysts were commercially proven in other applications, the challenge was to package them into a reliable, large-scale cracking process. Innovations like the high-efficiency HAVAC process were developed, and partnerships with Doosan and thyssenkrupp focused on creating the blueprints for integrating this technology into commercial-scale power and ammonia plants. The maturity level was pre-pilot, focused on proving the techno-economic case for integrated systems.

The year 2025 has seen a decisive shift from design to demonstration and pre-commercial validation. The market has been significantly de-risked by successful third-party pilots, notably MHI’s demonstration of 99% pure hydrogen production. This external validation shifts the conversation from “if” to “how.” Johnson Matthey is now applying its technology in real-world demonstration environments, including the APOLO maritime project and its own H₂ICE testing facility. The most telling indicator of maturity is the market’s progression towards commercial-scale projects. Uniper’s plan for six large crackers signals a move into the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) stage for industrial facilities. JM’s technology, validated by an ICIS Innovation Award, is no longer just a concept; it is a licensable solution competing for contracts on the first wave of billion-dollar projects. The technology is rapidly exiting the “valley of death” between pilot and commercial deployment.

Table: SWOT Analysis of Johnson Matthey’s Ammonia Cracking Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights and Summary

Johnson Matthey’s decisive actions in 2025 have positioned it at the epicenter of the emerging ammonia-to-hydrogen value chain. The £1.8 billion divestment was not a retreat but the firing of a starting gun, signaling a full-throttle pursuit of the hydrogen market. The data indicates that the concept of ammonia as a global hydrogen carrier is rapidly transitioning from theory to commercial reality.

Looking ahead, the most critical signal to watch will be the selection of the technology licensor for the first of Uniper’s planned large-scale ammonia cracking plants. A win for Johnson Matthey would serve as the ultimate validation of its focused strategy and technological leadership. Conversely, a loss would hand a significant first-mover advantage to a competitor. Furthermore, achieving the stated goal of operational break-even for its hydrogen business by fiscal year 2025/26 will be a crucial proof point for investors, demonstrating that the high-stakes pivot can deliver financial returns. As the market matures, expect JM to leverage its partnership with thyssenkrupp Uhde to aggressively compete for these foundational projects. The progress of the APOLO project will also be a key indicator of JM’s ability to penetrate the massive maritime decarbonization market. For executives and investors, the focus should be squarely on JM’s ability to convert its impressive technological portfolio and strategic positioning into signed, large-scale commercial contracts—the ultimate litmus test of its bold hydrogen bet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Johnson Matthey sell its Catalyst Technologies business for £1.8 billion?
Johnson Matthey sold its Catalyst Technologies business to Honeywell to strategically streamline the company and raise significant capital. This divestment allowed JM to sharpen its focus on high-growth areas, specifically hydrogen technologies like ammonia cracking, by freeing it from a more traditional business line and providing funds to aggressively pursue the emerging hydrogen market.

What is ammonia cracking and why is it a key part of Johnson Matthey’s strategy?
Ammonia cracking is a process that converts ammonia back into hydrogen. It is strategically important because ammonia is considered a key carrier for transporting hydrogen over long distances. Johnson Matthey’s strategy is to license the core technology for this process, enabling countries and companies to import ammonia and ‘crack’ it locally to produce pure hydrogen for use in power generation, industrial processes, and transportation.

Who are Johnson Matthey’s main competitors in the ammonia cracking market?
The article identifies the primary threat as intense commercial competition from other established technology licensors. Specifically, it names Haldor Topsoe and KBR as key competitors. The text also notes that thyssenkrupp Uhde, while a partner on some projects, has its own technology and has secured a framework agreement with Uniper, making them a significant competitor for large-scale contracts.

What makes 2025 a pivotal ‘inflection point’ for Johnson Matthey?
The year 2025 is pivotal because it marks JM’s strategic shift from technology development to aggressive commercialization. This is defined by the £1.8 billion divestment to fund its hydrogen ambitions, alongside market signals that the opportunity is now tangible. These signals include Uniper’s plan for six large-scale crackers and JM’s expansion into new end-markets like maritime decarbonization with the APOLO project.

What are the biggest risks to Johnson Matthey’s ammonia cracking strategy?
The main risks have shifted from technological uncertainty to commercial and policy execution. The biggest threats are: 1) Intense competition to win the first wave of foundational, large-scale licensor contracts, such as those planned by Uniper. 2) Increased financial reliance on the nascent hydrogen market to become profitable (breakeven targeted for FY2025/26) after selling a stable business. 3) Potential delays in government policies, like Europe’s RED III, which could stall large-scale investment and slow market growth.