Zero-emission, high-performance ammonia fuel powers heavy machinery

Spotted: With just a handful of countries dominating agricultural machinery sales use, replacing polluting diesel engines with a zero emissions alternative could be done relatively quickly. The result would make a significant dent in global greenhouse gases. New York-based Amogy has created a fuel and power system to do just that by using the world’s second most-produced chemical – ammonia. Use of the clean, high-power fuel system is part of Amogy’s plans to reduce around five gigatonnes of air pollution from transport by 2040.

Focused on the heavy machinery industries of shipping, truck transport, and agriculture, Amogy’s clean fuel provides the power and longevity needed by heavy-duty vehicles. And now, a retrofitted John Deere tractor has successfully showcased the new fuel.

Made by combining hydrogen with atmospheric nitrogen, ammonia is usually used as the basis of nitrogen fertilisers. Readily available as a material and easy to produce, it is a fuel source that can be integrated into current heavy industry structures such as storage, pipelines, and terminals. And with its high energy density, new vehicles using the fuel can be built smaller and lighter, and retrofitted machines won’t become restrictively heavy.

Ammonia has been more frequently spotted by Springwise as something to be removed. For example, Springwise has spotted a probiotic soap that removes ammonia from river water, as well as a portable industrial air quality monitor that detects pollutants, including ammonia. Amogy is instead seeing it as a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels in transport. 

Written by: Keely Khoury