Amogy, a Brooklyn-based startup, has announced the successful demonstration of the first-ever ammonia-powered, zero-emissions tractor. The demonstration took place at Advanced Energy Center, located in the Research & Development Park at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY.
A John Deere mid-size standard tractor had its diesel engine replaced with Amogy’s highly-efficient ammonia-to-power technology. The technology converts the energy-dense chemical into hydrogen, which then powers a 100kW hydrogen fuel cell.
The unique system is comprised of a standard liquid-storage tank to store ammonia in liquid form, which is fed into highly efficient ammonia-cracking modules that split it into nitrogen and hydrogen. The resulting hydrogen runs the system’s fuel cell system, which can provide consistent primary power for several hours per refueling.
Therefore, the pioneering vehicle maintains the functionality and duration requirements operators rely on to support regular farming tasks, which has never been offered with other alternative energy solutions. The ammonia-powered tractor was driven for separate periods, with a refueling session in between. Refueling a tractor with liquid ammonia is fast and simple, similar to gas or diesel refueling.
“We’re thrilled to be demonstrating our zero-emission ammonia power solution in action in a tractor for the first time ever. Ammonia is a viable zero-emission fuel for all heavy-duty vehicles, but especially farming and agriculture, where the readily-available chemical has been used as a fertilizer for decades,” said Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo. “Amogy is at the forefront of efforts to establish zero-carbon ammonia as a leading fuel for these vehicles. Ammonia offers a high energy density, and there are plentiful existing infrastructures, such as pipelines, terminals, and storage methods, in the U.S. and globally, to support such a transition.”
The company says it has achieved a twenty-fold increase in the power capacity of its ammonia-based energy technology over the past year. This first heavy-duty vehicle demonstration and scalability of Amogy’s solution underscores the visibility of the platform to support the decarbonization of the broader heavy-duty transport sectors, including trucking, shipping, and more.
“As we continue our work to lead innovations in ammonia-based fuel solutions, the Amogy team believes this demonstration and future ones, including Class 8 trucks and shipping vessels to be demonstrated in the next 12 months, will accelerate the adoption of ammonia as the next generation fuel to replace polluting diesel engines with an emission-free solution among transportation industry sectors and investment partners,” said Woo.
