There’s been a ton of focus on the investments being made in alternatives to fossil fuels in the automotive industry, which is why it’s easy to forget that certain sectors like industrial and agriculture are often at the forefront of emerging technologies with renewable energy in mind.
For example, it was way back in 2016 when John Deere first displayed its prototype fully-electric tractor, although some reports suggest the first experimental battery-powered tractor was developed as far back as the 1950s.
But electricity is not the only path to renewable energy, as evidenced by a recent announcement from the New York-based startup Amogy, which says they have successfully demonstrated the world’s first ammonia-powered tractor.
The ammonia-to-energy system was incorporated into what’s described as a standard, medium-sized Deere tractor. Amogy says the technology features a “liquid-storage tank and highly efficient ammonia-cracking modules integrated into a hybrid fuel cell system, which can provide consistent primary power for several hours.” They claim that refueling is similar to the process of fueling with gas or diesel.
Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo describes ammonia as a viable, high density, zero-emission fuel for heavy-duty vehicles. The company believes this energy source has many more applications outside of agrotech and stresses that infrastructure for an ammonia rollout — like pipelines, terminals, and storage methods — already exists in the U.S. and globally.
Amogy has generated millions in funding from two rounds, which includes an investment from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. The cash infusion has made a critical difference, and Amogy says it’s been able to increase the power capacity of its technology 20-fold in the past year.
Amogy hopes the latest demonstration will help the platform gain traction, with an overall goal to “support the decarbonization of the broader heavy-duty transport sectors, including trucking, shipping, and more.”