First ammonia-fueled pump shipped for testing

Algona, Iowa-Hydrogen Engine Center Inc. has completed and shipped its first anhydrous ammonia-powered irrigation pump for field testing in California, where the state is requiring that such machinery be converted to non-polluting fuels by 2010, according to HEC officials. The engine will be operated primarily on anhydrous, using liquefied petroleum gas as a catalyst fuel to irrigate a walnut grove and provide water for a cattle ranch in the San Luis Obispo area. “We are pleased that, in a relatively short period of time, we have developed the technology to a point where we are ready to begin full field trials,” CEO Ted Hollinger he said. “We believe that implementing ammonia as a carbonless fuel with our Oxx Power products will open new markets that have been dominated by fossil fuel powered engines for decades.”