Reaction Engines spinout hails ammonia reactor success

Founded in 2021, Sunborne is focused on ammonia-based power solutions to help decarbonise sectors such as shipping and heavy transport, as well as high-energy industrial processes. Its ammonia reactor incorporates elements of the thermal management used for Reaction’s air-breathing rocket engine, SABRE, paired with catalytic chemistry expertise provided by the the UK Science and technology Facilities Council (STFC), which is a co-founder of Sunborne.

According to the company, the reactor converts stored liquid ammonia into an ‘optimised blend’ of hydrogen, nitrogen and uncracked ammonia. Sunborne said its tests have produced a fuel blend capable of powering a 56kW (75bhp) engine, equivalent to a small vehicle or mobile generator unit. It also claims that the thermal efficiency of the test demonstrated the potential for the technology to be scaled into larger internal combustion engine systems and other industrial power applications. The test programme was undertaken at Reaction Engines’ test facility at the Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire.