GAC reveals ammonia-powered engine that emits 90% less carbon

Chinese car company GAC has developed a new-age internal combustion engine that uses liquid Ammonia. That’s right, this engine runs on a chemical commonly used in fertilizers.   

GAC's 2.0-liter ammonia engine [Photo: GAC Group]

This industry-first ammonia-powered engine was revealed at the GAC Tech Day 2023 event. According to the Chinese carmaker, it emits 90 percent less carbon than a traditional engine loaded with unleaded gasoline.   

Via a report from British automotive publication Autocar, the engine in question was revealed to be a 2.0-liter mill that can output 158 horsepower. And while ammonia engines are not a totally new invention, this one from GAC is the first one to be designed to work on passenger cars.  

According to GAC Research and Development Engineer Qi Hongzhong, they have managed to overcome the difficulty in burning ammonia as a fuel. It was not detailed how they achieved that, but burning ammonia doesn’t emit carbon and hydrocarbons as a regular gasoline engine would.  

It was noted, however, that ammonia is highly toxic with just half the energy density of gasoline. But seeing its potential as an efficient alternative to traditional fuel might outweigh the disadvantages.  

Another point to consider as pointed out by the report is that ammonia production might not be the greenest production method due to how energy intensive it is. Then again, new developments by way of renewable energy sources might be able to produce “green” ammonia. 

Does this mean we'll see ammonia-powered passenger cars in the future?

For those unaware, ammonia is an inorganic compound made up of a mix of nitrogen and hydrogen. As said above, it is primarily used as a fertilizer, but it is also utilized as an industrial solvent. As a fuel it has seen use on industrial turbine engines, and more famously, on the US air force’s rocket-powered X-15 hypersonic experimental aircraft. 

Other GAC innovations presented during its Tech Day include the new Trumpchi E9 liquid hydrogen car, the GAC on-the-go Vertical all-electric flying vehicle, and the Adigo Magic open-source automotive software.  

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