Ammonigy, Heraeus Precious Metals and the Technical University of Darmstadt have partnered to demonstrate operations using cracked ammonia fuel in a four-stroke MAN test engine. The performance and efficiency of the test engine when running on ammonia-hydrogen fuel was comparable to natural gas operations, and use of an exhaust aftertreatment system reduced potentially harmful nitrogen-based emissions to near-zero levels.
Ammonia cracking tech provider Ammonigy and leading German brick manufacturer Juwö Poroton led the project, successfully demonstrating a pilot-sized brick kiln that runs on cracked ammonia fuel gas. The cracked ammonia-fired bricks were virtually “indistinguishable from bricks fired with natural gas”.
Deutsche Bahn and Fortescue Future Industries will collaborate to modify existing locomotive diesel engines to run on hydrogen & ammonia fuel. The pair will utilise Ammonigy’s ammonia cracking technology in their design, with a prototype, bench-top engine currently undergoing testing in Germany. This week FFI also signed an agreement to develop a new energy import terminal in Wilhelmshaven.
In order to demonstrated ammonia-fueled solutions in a variety of applications, Stuttgart-based organisation Ammonigy has developed two patented technologies: a modular cracking unit that provides hydrogen to act as an “igniter” for the ammonia fuel, and an exhaust treatment system to minimise NOx emissions from the engine. But, while the principles behind Ammonigy’s technology solutions are very familiar to our readers, using them to convert a speedboat to run on ammonia fuel is certainly new! This week we explore results from testing on the GREEN AMY: the world’s first ammonia-powered speedboat.