A team led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Silesian University of Technology (SUT) is currently working on Project ACTIVATE. Their goal is to field demonstrate an ammonia-powered, cost-competitive agricultural vehicle by late 2023. Key objectives for engine R&D include:

i) Develop safe and flexible liquid ammonia injection system capable of injections at 250 bar
ii) Determine optimal injection strategy for direct liquid injection
iii) Determine optimal biodiesel injection strategy
iv) Determine optimal intake conditions
v) Determine safety guidelines

Project Objectives, taken from the official Project ACTIVATE website

To date the team have reported on successful combustion simulations, as well as finalised designs for the demonstration engine setup on their shop floor. Application of the technologies and field testing is due in twelve month’s time – we look forward to seeing the results.

Project partners also include the University of Agriculture in Krakow (UAK) and LOGE Polska. The project receives funding under the POLNOR 2019 competition announced by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development in the frame of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.

Ammonia-powered tractors

At Ammonia Energy we’ve seen several demonstrations of ammonia-powered agricultural vehicles over the years. In 2019 a team from the University of Minnesota demonstrated their 70% diesel, 30% ammonia-fueled experimental tractor. The team from the Schmuecker Solar Hydrogen & Ammonia Project have also provided regular conference updates on their dual-fuel, hydrogen and ammonia-fueled tractor (most recently 2019).

*this article was updated to include details of other project partners & the source of grant funding