Diesel fuel generators and trucks to be powered by cleaner NH3 fuel

Diesel fuel generators and trucks to be powered by cleaner NH3 fuel

June 18, 2019 0 By Angie Bergenson

The conversion of the diesel-fueled engines was announced in Canada.

Today (June 18, 2019) at the first National Hydrogen Mobility Innovation Conference in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Hydrofuel announced a commercial demonstration of diesel fueled generators and trucks converted to run on NH3 fuel.

Over the course of 3 years, two diesel fueled generators and transport trucks will be converted to use Hydrofuel ammonia fuel.

The generators and transport trucks to be converted will be provided by TFX International, a Toronto-based company.

These generators and trucks will use Hydrofuel Inc.’s, Ammonia Solutions aftermarket multi-fuels engine retrofit systems for low emission combination of diesel and ammonia fuel, as well as zero emission hydrogen oxygen assisted NH3 fuel.

NH3 is the chemical formula of ammonia, which is a simple compound that is made up of three hydrogen atoms bonded to one nitrogen atom. NH3 is typically stored as liquified gas. That being said, due to its chemical structure, it is composed of more hydrogen per unit volume than liquified hydrogen. Since the hydrogen is tightly bounded to the nitrogen, it makes it a very stable chemical that is hard to ignite.

Hydrofuel Inc. is a Mississauga-based ammonia energy and fuel system technologies company.

NH3 fuel is the most “environmentally benign fuel”.

Hydrofuel Inc. has conducted several ammonia and energy life-cycle production and utilization studies. The company sees this technology as a viable, cost-effective and cleaner fuel to fossil fuels and even other low-emission fuels that are produced via dirty methods.

“NH3 is the most environmentally benign fuel when compared with gasoline, gaseous or liquid hydrogen, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel, compressed natural gas, electric (where electricity is created from fossil-fuels) and hybrid electric vehicles,” Hydrofuel chairman Greg Vezina sated in a press release.

Hydrofuel has also pointed out that the US Department of Energy Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA-E) has shown that ammonia is the cheapest, proven technology for long-term, large-scale energy storage for longer than a single day.

Vigorously implementing NH3-fueled vehicles by replacing light duty gasoline vehicles in American reportedly has the potential to eliminate 96% (or about 718 metric tons) of the annual LDV CO2 emissions projected in 2040.

Beyond the US, green ammonia (ammonia produced from renewable sources) is already being produced in the UK, EU and Japan where NH3 is made from municipal waste and plastic.

Hydrofuel Inc. expects the savings from the $2 million NH3 fuel conversion project to cover most of the engine NH3 Fuel - Hydrofuel truck - Hydroful Inc. Press Releaseconversion, operation and ammonia fuelling and infrastructure costs, which would be a small fraction of the price of using hydrogen fuel.