New fuel made from ammonia to drive decarbonization of transportation sector

Ammonia is a promising fuel due to its low emissions and ease of transport and storage. However, the process of cracking ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen is energy-intensive.

The transportation sector is responsible for about 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 requires complete decarbonization of vehicles such as trucks and buses. While electric vehicle batteries reduce CO2 emissions, they cannot store sufficient energy for long-haul journeys by container ships or heavy duty vehicles.

Ammonia "cracking"

Young Suk Jo, an MIT Technology Review "2023 Innovator Under 35" and co-founder of start-up Amogy, has developed a method for using ammonia as fuel. Despite its prevalence in the fertilizer industry, ammonia has proven a formidable energy source with an energy density three times higher than compressed hydrogen.

The process involves a reactor that breaks down ammonia into nitrogen and hydrogen. The hydrogen generated can be utilized in a fuel cell to produce electricity. Although ammonia cracking is not new, the startup has developed a novel technology that makes the process more efficient and cost effective.

The Amogy-developed chemical catalyst enables a low-temperature reaction, making it suitable to perform in vehicles without harming their components. Additionally, the research team designed a more efficient reactor that can convert approximately 40% of the energy in ammonia into electricity, a noteworthy increase from the current standard process.

Tests on first vehicles

The company first tested the new fuel on a drone in 2021. This year, they made a truck run on ammonia fuel with a power consumption of 300 kW. John Heywood, a retired mechanical engineering professor at MIT and Jo's advisor, said progress on the demo vehicles is remarkably fast. The ammonia system will be installed on a tugboat by the end of the year.

However, in order to build a climate-friendly transportation network, processes that produce ammonia using electricity from renewable energy sources must be established quickly. This is necessary because current production predominantly relies on fossil fuels.