Saudi Aramco backs Brooklyn-based startup that turns ammonia into fuel

In the race to find cleaner fuels, the heavy transportation sector is sorely behind as batteries simply don’t have enough power to power trucks and ships. New technologies and new companies are working to convert ammonia into hydrogen to power tractors, trucks and even ships.

The heavy truck industry alone accounts for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. According to the International Maritime Organization, emissions by ships increased by nearly 10% from 2012 to 2018. Ships emit about 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, roughly equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of Texas and California combined.

That’s why companies like Man Energy Solutions, Wartsila, and Brooklyn-based startup Amogy are working on ammonia-based alternatives.

“Our proprietary technology allows us to efficiently and effectively convert ammonia to hydrogen, so we can use that process onboard a vehicle to produce hydrogen, and then use the produced hydrogen to power a fuel cell. You can move the vehicle by pressing.” Wu Sung-Hung

This technology allows the car to split (or split) ammonia into hydrogen, which is then fed into a fuel cell to power the vehicle. The energy density of liquid ammonia is approximately three times that of compressed hydrogen.

Amogy has just tested the technology on a semi-truck and is already John Deere tractors and drones. The next step to clean shipping is tugboats.

“We have many partnerships with industry stakeholders in heavy industry shipping and heavy industry. It’s the key to penetrating the

One of Amogy’s investors, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, sees ammonia as part of the future.

Saudi Aramco Chief Technology Officer Ahmad Al Kowaita said:

“It will be a growth market in a carbon-constrained world. Such products will be more valuable and the market and demand for them will grow. So we think this is very positive from a shareholder perspective.” there is,” he said. Added.

In addition to Saudi Aramco, Amogy AmazonClimate Pledge Fund, AP Ventures, SK Innovation, DCVC. The startup has raised $70 million to date.

CNBC Producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this piece.