On January 17, the sustainable energy startup company Amogy unveiled its latest innovation — the first-ever ammonia-powered, zero-emission semi truck. Amogy calls itself a “a pioneer of emission-free, energy-dense ammonia power solutions” and aims to “decarbonize” ground, sea, and air transportation.
In Amogy’s press release, they explain that their ammonia powered technology has evolved from powering a drone, to a tractor, and now to a semi truck. In a test conducted at Stony Brook University the big rig took 8 minutes to fuel, stored 900 kWh of net electric energy, and was able to drive around the campus for several hours.
Watch the test-run below:
According to Statista, heavy-duty trucking makes up 23% of greenhouse gas emissions in transportation. In Amogy’s press releasse, they state, “Decarbonizing heavy-duty trucking has been challenging, . . . Unlocking ammonia’s potential, Amogy’s proprietary technology enables the on-board cracking of ammonia into hydrogen, which is then sent directly into a fuel cell to power the vehicle. Liquid ammonia has an energy density that is approximately three times greater than compressed hydrogen and it requires significantly less energy, making it cost-effective to store and transport. Ammonia presents a clear path to a zero-carbon fuel value chain across all heavy duty transportation sectors thanks to existing transportation and storage infrastructure. A global commodity, 200 million tons of ammonia are already produced and transported each year, making it an ideal and accessible alternative fuel.”
Later this month, Amogy will run more extensive tests on their ammonia-powered semi, and subject it to more real-world conditions.
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