Domestic researchers have significantly improved the performance of an engine that uses ammonia as fuel. In a situation where the development of fuels that do not emit greenhouse gases is necessary to achieve carbon neutrality, expectations are building that cars and ships running on ammonia may emerge.
A research team led by Park Cheol-woong, head of the Eco-Friendly Mobility Research Laboratory at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, announced on the 23rd that it developed a 2-liter ammonia engine that emits no greenhouse gases in collaboration with the Hyundai Motor-Kia Electrification Design Center.
Ammonia is an eco-friendly fuel that does not produce carbon dioxide during the combustion process. It has approximately twice the transport efficiency of hydrogen and is inexpensive, making it a promising alternative energy source for achieving carbon neutrality. Engines that operate on ammonia are expected to be utilized in various fields such as vehicles, ships, and aviation.
The engine developed by the research team can be used directly as fuel without the process of breaking down ammonia into hydrogen. To reduce the output instability and harmful substance emissions that were cited as disadvantages of existing ammonia engines, a "high-pressure liquid injection" technology has also been applied. This technology helps stabilize the supply of ammonia fuel to the engine.
The research team improved the ignition device and optimized the timing for fuel injection and the opening of the intake and exhaust valves, enhancing performance. An ammonia-specific after-treatment system also minimized emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are air pollutants, and unburned ammonia. As a result, thermal efficiency and output have been significantly improved, and harmful emissions have been greatly reduced. Compared to existing technology, it achieved the world's highest level of efficiency without needing additives.
Park noted, "This is a groundbreaking technology that has drastically improved the performance of existing ammonia engines," adding that it will change the paradigm in the mobility power source and clean hydrogen power generation in industrial generators.
Lee Seung-woo, a senior researcher at Hyundai Motor-Kia, said, "I expect it to establish itself as a new clean fuel-based power source that can solve the challenges of hydrogen transport and green hydrogen production."