Ammonia a promising alternative for marine sector

Although the auto industry is rushing to electrify, batteries, in their current state of development, aren't the answer for many modes of transportation, or even many use cases in the auto and commercial-vehicle sectors. This leaves the cleanup demanded by tightening global emissions regulations to better internal-combustion engines - or better fuels to burn in those engines.

As efficiency gains for IC engines and their exhaust-aftertreatment systems reach the point of diminishing returns, “What you can do is change the fuel,” said Stefan Mayer, manager, diesel and turbo at MAN Energy Solutions, at the “Current and Future State of Transportation Fuels” expert panel discussion at SAE International's annual WCX conference in Detroit. With increasing attention on climate change and “decarbonization” measures in every industry, Mayer and other speakers outlined a variety of efforts to expand the application of alternative fuels to provide potential big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.