Amogy, a developer of ammonia power solutions, says it has successfully tested its ammonia-powered, zero-emission semi-truck. The company first integrated its ammonia technology into a 5 kW drone in July 2021, and ramped up to a 100kW John Deere tractor in May 2022. Amogy has now scaled its ammonia-to-power technology to 300 kW. Following an eight-minute-long fueling, the semi-truck, having 900 kWh of total stored net electric energy, was tested for several hours on the campus of Stony Brook University. Later this month, the Amogy team will pursue full-scale testing on a test track to showcase the truck’s performance under various real-world operating conditions.

Decarbonizing heavy-duty trucking has been challenging, with alternatives like battery power lacking the energy density needed to replace diesel for larger vehicles and long-distance routes with minimal downtimes, Amogy says. Unlocking ammonia’s potential, Amogy says its 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, the company adds. Approximately 200 million tons of ammonia are already produced and transported each year.

Following this successful freight truck testing, Amogy says it will continue to pursue strategic partnerships across the global shipping and transportation industries. This includes the company’s 1 MW-scale ammonia-powered tugboat to be presented later in 2023, and other commercial deployments with partners including a recently-announced inland barge retrofit project with Southern Devall.