Amogy, a company that specializes in ammonia-based power solutions with high energy density and zero emissions, has successfully tested an ammonia-powered, zero-emission semi truck. This achievement follows the company’s previous successes with integrating its technology into a 5 kW drone in July 2021 and a 100kW John Deere tractor in May 2022. The company’s ammonia-to-power technology was scaled to 300 kW for the semi truck, which, after an eight-minute fueling, was tested for several hours on the campus of Stony Brook University in New York. The truck had 900 kWh of total stored net electric energy.
The Amogy team will now focus on full-scale testing on a test track to showcase the truck’s performance under various real-world operating conditions. The goal of this presentation was to prove that ammonia is a viable and sustainable solution for the heavy-duty trucking industry. Amogy officials believe that their ammonia-to-power system can enable the trucking industry to transition away from diesel-powered engines and towards alternative fuel-to-power technologies.
Amogy’s technology allows for the on-board cracking of ammonia into hydrogen, which is then sent directly into a fuel cell to power the vehicle. According to the company, liquid ammonia has an energy density that is approximately three times greater than compressed hydrogen and requires significantly less energy to store and transport, making it cost-effective. Ammonia is also a global commodity, with 200 million tons produced and transported each year.
“Beyond its incredible energy-density and liquid phase at an ambient temperature, ammonia is an optimal fuel to achieve rapid decarbonization of heavy transportations because it is available globally with existing infrastructure already in place,” said Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo in a statement. “This achievement not only showcases Amogy’s technology as an accessible and scalable solution for trucking, it also highlights the capabilities and dedication of our outstanding team. First it was an ammonia-powered drone, then a tractor, and now a truck. In the near future, we look forward to further scaling and tackling other hard-to-abate sectors, such as global shipping.”
Amogy plans to continue pursuing strategic partnerships with the global shipping and transportation industries. This includes the company’s upcoming presentation of a 1 MW-scale ammonia-powered tugboat later in 2023, as well as other commercial deployments with partners like the recently announced inland barge retrofit project with Southern Devall.