SK Innovation-invested Amogy tests ammonia-powered heavy truck

Amogy Inc. has successfully tested its ammonia-hydrogen power system for large-size semi trucks – the first time that ammonia has been used as a fuel for heavy-duty transportation vehicles.

The US ammonia-based power system developer, in which South Korea’s SK Innovation Co. has a significant stake, said on Wednesday the successful testing of the first-ever ammonia-powered, zero-emission semi truck proved the efficacy of ammonia as a viable energy source.

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, Amogy said it will conduct full-scale testing on a test track to showcase the truck’s performance under various real-world operating conditions.

The company used a retrofitted class-8 Freightliner Cascadia, weighing 33,000 pounds (15 tons).

After integrating its technology into a 5 kW drone in July 2021 and a 100 kW John Deere tractor in May 2022, Amogy has scaled its ammonia-to-power technology to 300 kW, it said.

“First it was an ammonia-powered drone, then a tractor and now a truck. In the near future, we look forward to further scaling and tackling other hard-to-abate sectors such as global shipping,” said Amogy Chief Executive Woo Seong-hoon.

VIABLE, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCE

The latest test proves ammonia to be a viable, sustainable energy source for heavy-duty trucking industries, which account for 23% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, the company said.

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.

Amogy said its technology enables the onboard 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 about three times greater than compressed hydrogen. It requires significantly less energy, making it cost-effective to store and transport.

A global commodity, 200 million tons of ammonia are already produced and transported each year, making it an ideal and accessible alternative fuel, according to Amogy.

SK’S $30 BILLION INVESTMENT IN AMOGY

SK Innovation, Korea’s largest oil refiner and the parent of battery maker SK On Co., in June invested $30 million in Brooklyn-based Amogy as part of its efforts to expand its green portfolio through clean energy company acquisitions.



Other investors in Amogy include Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, British venture capital firm AP Ventures and Saudi Aramco.

Founded by four alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s doctoral program in 2020, Amogy specializes in building a portable carbon-free energy system using ammonia as a renewable fuel.

The company said the system offers five times the energy density of a lithium-ion battery.

Amogy aims to reduce at least 5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions by 2040, accelerating the global journey towards Net Zero 2050, it said.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.