The first ammonia-powered tractor with zero emissions successfully completed its first demonstration drive at Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Center in New York.
The diesel engine on the midsize John Deere tractor was replaced with a “ammonia to power” system invented by the startup Amogy. The system converts the high-energy chemical to hydrogen, which is then used to power a 100 kW hydrogen fuel cell.
Although most EV coverage focuses on consumer-oriented passenger cars and light trucks, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles account for over a quarter of U.S. vehicle emissions and are crucial decarbonization objectives. The low energy density of batteries and their lengthy charging times make fuel cells an interesting zero-emissions alternative, and we have already examined the possible applications for hydrogen fuel cells in trains, trucks, and mines.
However, even the most environmentally friendly hydrogen is not particularly energy-dense, and outside of California, there is no hydrogen infrastructure to rely on.
On the other hand, anhydrous ammonia is frequently utilized in agriculture as a fertilizer. It is not the easiest chemical to work with, but due to its energy density, it has been considered as a potential fuel for farm equipment. In the past, this required combustion engines that used a mixture of ammonia and diesel, which emitted less carbon dioxide than a tractor fueled only by diesel but still emitted some of the pollutant.
The device developed by Amogy can operate a tractor for several hours using a 60-gallon ammonia tank. However, the ammonia is not utilized directly in the fuel cell; rather, it is cracked in a reactor to produce hydrogen on demand, which is then used to power the fuel cell. While there are inefficiencies in the system, according to Amogy, the higher energy density of ammonia means it is easy to carry enough fuel to compensate, making it superior to a conventional hydrogen fuel cell in terms of both energy and power density.
However, don’t anticipate seeing ammonia-powered fuel cell tractors on the farm just yet. Following this demonstration of a medium-duty vehicle, Amogy intends to demonstrate a 1 MW system later in 2022.
“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 Seonghoon Woo, Amogy’s CEO.
