Machinery / Industrial Parts & Tools

Recently, the world's first ammonia-powered zero-emission tractor successfully completed its first demonstration run at the Stony Brook University Advanced Energy Center in New York. The diesel engine of a John Deere medium-duty tractor was replaced by an "ammonia-powered" system developed by a start-up company called Amogy. The system converts energy-dense chemicals into hydrogen, which then powers a 100-kW hydrogen fuel cell.

While most EV coverage is concentrated in consumer-facing passenger cars and light-duty trucks, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles account for more than a quarter of U.S. vehicle emissions and are important targets for decarbonization.

The low energy density and long charging time of batteries make fuel cells an attractive zero-emission solution. In the past, we have looked at the potential use of hydrogen fuel cells in trains, trucking and mining.

But even the most environmentally friendly hydrogen is still not readily available. Outside of California, there is little hydrogen infrastructure to rely on.

On the other hand, anhydrous ammonia is widely used as a fertilizer in agriculture. It's not the most pleasant chemical in the world, but given its energy density, it's seen as a potential fuel for agricultural equipment. In the past, internal combustion engines burned a mixture of ammonia and diesel, which emitted less carbon dioxide than pure diesel-powered tractors, but still emitted some pollutants.

Amogy's system can power a tractor for hours on a 227-liter ammonia tank. But it can't be used directly in a fuel cell; instead, ammonia is cracked into hydrogen in a reactor, which is then used to power the fuel cell.

While the system suffers from inefficiencies, Amogy says ammonia's higher energy density means it can easily carry enough fuel to compensate, ahead of regular hydrogen fuel cells in both energy and power density.

Tractors are more accustomed to carrying ammonia to spray on fields, but this tractor uses the substance stored in white tanks to convert it into hydrogen, which in turn powers fuel cells.

Don't expect to see ammonia-powered fuel cell tractors working on farms just yet, though. Following the demonstration of the medium tractor, Amogy plans to scale up, including a demonstration of a 1-megawatt system later in 2022.

Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo said the Amogy team believes in this demonstration and future R&D, including truck and marine applications that will be demonstrated over the next 12 months, as the company continues its commitment to leading innovation in ammonia-based fuel solutions. Will accelerate the adoption of ammonia as a zero-emission solution fuel.