The world’s first ammonia-powered semi-truck

US-based Amogy has successfully tested the first-ever zero emission semi-truck fuelled by ammonia 

Spotted: Approximately 23 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation can be attributed to heavy-duty trucking industries. But, unlike other modes of transport, decarbonising heavy-duty trucks has proved challenging, with alternatives not providing enough energy to replace diesel. New York-based Amogy is aiming to overcome this challenge with its retrofitted 2018 Freightliner Cascadia powered by an ammonia-to-power system. Recent testing of the zero-emission semi-truck has proven that ammonia is a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Amogy’s technology unlocks the potential of ammonia by cracking it into hydrogen before sending it straight to a fuel cell that powers the truck. Liquid ammonia has around three times more energy density than compressed hydrogen making it cost-effective to store and transport.

Seonghoon Woo, Chief Executive Officer at Amogy, explains: “beyond its incredible energy-density and liquid phase at an ambient temperature, ammonia is an optimal fuel to achieve rapid decarbonisation of heavy transportations because it is available globally with existing infrastructure already in place.” 

By 2040, Amogy hopes to have stopped over five billion metric tons of CO2 equivalents from entering our atmosphere. 

Springwise has previously spotted other innovations investing in ammonia as a sustainable alternative, including an ammonia fuel system that powers heavy machinery, and a plant that tests different ways of producing green ammonia. 

Written By: Georgia King