THE WORLD'S FIRST AMMONIA-POWERED, ZERO-EMISSIONS TRACTOR

In this week's email:

• The world's first ammonia-fueled, zero-emissions tractor

• Toyota's launches Tesla Powerwall competitor

• Quick bursts: A "green gas mill" in the U.K. is close to powering homes with grass

• In case it's helpful: A Slack community to help you quit your job to work on climate solutions

Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes, 45 seconds

BROOKLYN STARTUP, AMOGY, UNVEILS THE WORLD'S FIRST AMMONIA FUELED TRACTOR

This week Amogy showcased the first zero-emissions tractor powered by ammonia. The start-up has developed technology to convert ammonia to hydrogen on demand and then power a fuel cell. This means that this system can produce more energy and use less space than a typical hydrogen fuel cell.

The demonstration showed that the retrofitted tractor could run for "several hours" stopping for an ammonia top-off and then going again. Amogy believes that this shows that the tractor can meet the "functionality and duration requirements operators rely on to support farming tasks."

If this alternative can perform on-par with diesel fueled tractors (at a similar or reduced cost) Amogy's advancement greatly increases the possibility of eliminating emissions from the agriculture sector.

Which by the way, represents 11% of U.S. transportation greenhouse gas emissions. 

Go Amogy!

TOYOTA LAUNCHES TESLA POWERWALL COMPETITOR

7 years after the launch of the 1st Powerwall, can Toyota's residential battery system really compete? I don't think it really matters.

This week Toyota announced the launch of its Powerwall competitor, the O-Uchi Kyuden System. In Japan, pre-orders of the residential battery system are now available and sales through home-builders will start in August. The announcement did not state when the technology will be available outside of Japan.

Toyota's home energy storage system has 35% less capacity than the Powerwall (8.7 kWh vs. 13.5 kWh). Despite the smaller capacity, Toyota believes this will be enough to serve customer needs. Stating that the the O-Uchi Kyuden System can provide "a supply of electricity to the entire home not just in normal situations, but even during power outages caused by natural disasters". It's worth noting that the energy consumption per household in Japan is less than half of the US. So in terms of capacity, Toyota may actually be superior. We'll need to keep an eye out on price and capacity in markets outside Japan to declare a winner.

For now, I have to admit, the Powerwall wins on aesthetics.

Irrespective of who ends up with the superior product, what matters is that the 2nd largest car manufacturer is now on board in this product category! Elon Musk has always said that the most significant contribution Tesla will make to the world is that it will accelerate the rate at which its competitors bring sustainable energy solutions to the market. In this case - accelerate may have been a bit generous, but the change is happening. And that bodes well for all of us.

QUICK BURSTS

• Inspiring: Portugal is getting ready to set up Europe's largest floating solar park. 

• Just plain cool: Singaporean Scientists developed a new stretchable fabric that can turn body movement into electricity!

• Driving change: The first hydrogen-powered cargo trucks in New Zealand hit the road.

• Mind-blowing: A "green gas mill" in the U.K. on track to power homes by turning grass into gas by early 2023.

• Convenient: In the U.S. you will soon be able to purchase solar panels at IKEA!

IN CASE IT'S HELPFUL

Want to work on climate solutions? There's a Slack community for that! Ex-Googlers who left their jobs to work on climate change run a community with more than 8,500 to help others to the same.

Thanks for reading! See you next week.