GAC And Toyota Find New Breakthroughs, Amonia Fueled Machines That Reduce Carbon By 90 Percent

Emkco, one of GAC's mainstay products. (Doc. GAC Motor)

JAKARTA - In the midst of the high growth of electric-powered vehicles, several manufacturers are still trying to find alternative energy to create emission-free clean air.

Toyota and BMW, for example, are developing hydrogen energy in their vehicles, while other manufacturers are embracing synthetic fuels or e-fuels for the future.

However, GAC Group, an automotive company from China, made an unusual breakthrough. They managed to develop a prototype engine that uses liquid ammonia fuel.

Reported by the Autocar website, Tuesday, July 4, GAC collaborates with Toyota in developing the latest fuel for internal fuel engines. This fuel development inspiration comes from the maritime industry and transport, which has explored the use of ammonia as an alternative diesel for ships and container trucks.

According to the company's claims, a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine with 158 dk of power developed could reduce carbon gas emissions by up to 90 percent compared to gasoline.

Although not the first engine to use ammonia energy, this potential innovation is the first to be applied to production cars or passenger vehicles.

However, development does not run without obstacles. GAC managed to overcome several problems, such as excessive nitrogen emissions and increased combustion pressure compared to gasoline engines.

"We have managed to overcome the problem of rapidly burning ammonia and use it for passenger vehicles," said Qi Hongzhong, an engineer at the center of the R&D GAC.

Amonia is indeed a highly toxic substance and is often used as fertilizer, but its flammable nature has made it in the spotlight for future transportation needs. The dance is that ammonia has about half the energy density of gasoline, which is 3.6kWh per liter, but ammonia does not emit carbon, hydrocarbons, or CO2 when burned.