Ammonia tanks are much lighter and take no longer than eight minutes to refuel, which is not the same as charging Tesla batteries. But, as always, there are nuances.

Working principle of the system

The developer of the ammonia-fueled power platform does not specify the efficiency of all stages of the conversion of NH3 to electricity. The ammonia must be converted into pure hydrogen using a separation and purification system, passing the hydrogen through the fuel cores and directing the resulting electricity to feed the traction electric motors as well as the onboard systems.

Even if the processes at all stages reach maximum efficiency for today, only half of the declared energy reserve will reach the engines, but this is not so hopeless. Installing a new ammonia tank is easier and cheaper than adding the same capacity with a set of lithium batteries.

Not efficient but convenient

Using ammonia instead of pure hydrogen would greatly simplify the fuel cycle because hydrogen must be stored either as a gas under enormous pressure (about 700 atmospheres) or as a liquid cooled to -252.87°C. Ammonia is stored in cylinders in liquid form at the normal pressure and temperature of the surrounding air. Thus, in terms of energy storage density, ammonia recovers gaseous hydrogen by about three times its volume and is 20 times ahead of lithium batteries by weight.

Replacing ammonia tanks is much faster than batteries / Photo by AMOGY

Aside from other metals and minerals important for battery production, it’s important to remember that a lithium shortage is predicted for the next decade. To be fair, even now it’s not enough. Ammonia, like hydrogen, can be produced in an environmentally friendly way, for example in nuclear power plants or with the help of renewable energy, making it important for the sustainable economy of the future.

Working example

Amogy built its ammonia-powered power platform on a production 2018 Freightliner Cascadia semi-trailer. The car has been tested at the State University of New York’s Stony Brook campus, and a full-scale real-world performance evaluation on the test track is scheduled for later this month. In addition, Amogy has a 5 kW ammonia plant for a drone and a 100 kW tractor.

The first tractor using ammonia: watch the video

In addition, Amogy is working towards the strongest ship installations for maritime transport. It is committed to providing a 1 MW power plant and a tugboat operation by the end of 2023, and a 10 MW facility for sea container carriers by 2025. And not only that, a number of projects envision ammonia as an indirect or even direct fuel for aircraft and ship engines.