Clean+Fuel

Liquid hydrogen is a giant pain to handle, but it's one of the few technologies with a genuine chance of decarbonizing long-range flight. So it's huge news for clean aviation that H2Fly has now landed the word's first piloted liquid hydrogen flight.

Ammonia has been proposed as a clean fuel for ships, airliners, trucks and trains, but China's GAC believes it could also have a future in passenger cars. It's built a combustion engine to test the theory, capable of reducing emissions by around 90%.

Having already rolled out the world's first ammonia-fueled tractor and the world's first ammonia-fueled semi truck, Brooklyn company Amogy has now got hold of a 1957 tugboat, and plans to have the world's first ammonia-powered ship sailing this year.

Claiming a system-level energy density 5X higher than batteries, Amogy has rolled out "the world's first ammonia-powered, zero-emission semi truck." It holds about 900 kWh of energy, like the Tesla Semi, but you can refuel it in about eight minutes.

RMIT researchers say they've unlocked cheaper, more energy-efficient green hydrogen production with a new electrolysis technique boosted by sound waves. With these high-frequency vibrations active, standard electrolysis produces 14x more hydrogen.

A fundamental chemistry breakthrough promises to unlock ammonia as a clean fuel, and decarbonize the chemical industry in the process. Rice University researchers have created a small, LED-powered device that converts ammonia to hydrogen on the fly.

Hydrogen supercar maker Hyperion isn't happy about the state of hydrogen fuel infrastructure, so it's decided to start building its own, rolling out yacht-styled mobile hydrogen stations across the United States that can generate fuel on-site.

Plastic waste is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time. Now, engineers at MIT have developed an effective new catalyst that breaks down mixed plastics into propane, which can then be burned as fuel or used to make new plastic.

Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has announced he's challenged his team to get the world's first ammonia-powered ship into service by 2022, following their rapid success with hydrogen mining trucks and ammonia-powered locomotives.

Engineers have demonstrated a pilot system that produces fuels from sunlight and air. The device captures carbon dioxide and water from the air and uses solar energy to convert it into syngas, which is then converted into carbon-neutral liquid fuels.

You'll be hearing a lot more about ammonia as a clean fuel option in the race to zero carbon by 2050. In particular, it looks like a strong option for long-haul ships and trucks. So what is it, how is it made, and how does it shape up as green fuel?

It's going to take decades to get aviation, shipping and long-haul transport down to zero emissions – but an interim solution is about to hit the market that can clean up big transport straight away, with no fleet changes – albeit in a strange way.