Taking ammonia to the field: MAN Engines is researching a new drive for agricultural machinery

How can heavy agricultural machinery meet high performance requirements in the future and at the same time use alternative energy sources? This is the question addressed by the GAMCO (Green Ammonia Multifuel Combine) research project. Together with the agricultural machinery manufacturer CLAAS and the research institute WTZ Roßlau, MAN Engines is working on an innovative drive concept for agricultural applications. The joint project, which will run until 2029, is investigating the use of ammonia as an energy source for heavy agricultural machinery under practical operating conditions. As a carbon-free energy carrier, ammonia offers an interesting approach for researching new drive concepts.

GAMCO's goal is to develop a drive concept for heavy-duty off-road applications and to investigate it under practical conditions. The focus is on the question of what contribution alternative energy sources can make to applications that require high performance requirements, long operating times and a high degree of operational flexibility. The project is intended to provide insights into how ammonia can be used technically as a possible energy carrier for such application profiles. At the same time, the potentials and challenges of ammonia in practical use will be scientifically investigated.

For MAN Engines, the focus is on the development of future-oriented drive concepts. The company is contributing its many years of experience in the development of high-performance engines for off-road, industrial, energy and marine applications to the project. This expertise is intended to contribute to systematically investigating the potential and challenges of new fuel and drive concepts and evaluating them in a practical manner. "As a development partner to our customers, we want to open up new ways to reduce CO₂ emissions. With GAMCO, we are testing the potential of ammonia for demanding applications," says Daniel Strucks, Head of MAN Engines.

MAN Engines is supporting the project with its engine and development expertise and is helping to assess the technical feasibility of the drive concept. The knowledge gained in the project should help to better understand and technologically classify future applications of alternative energy sources for demanding application profiles.

"The decarbonization of heavy-duty off-road applications will not be solved by a single technology. It is therefore important to scientifically examine different energy sources and drive concepts and to evaluate their potential realistically," says Werner Kübler, Head of Engineering MAN Engines. "With our experience in the development and simulation of modern combustion engines, we are making a significant contribution to evaluating the technical feasibility of ammonia-based drive concepts for performance-intensive applications."

The project partners are contributing their respective competencies to the research network. CLAAS is contributing its expertise as an agricultural machinery manufacturer, while WTZ Roßlau is contributing its experience in the development and testing of new drive technologies. MAN Engines complements the network with its comprehensive engine expertise and many years of experience in the development of robust drive solutions for demanding applications.

A key goal of the project is not to limit research results to the test bench, but to investigate their relevance for real operating conditions. The knowledge gained should contribute to a better evaluation of future drive concepts for heavy mobile machines and to show new perspectives for the use of alternative energy sources in power-intensive applications.

GAMCO is funded as part of the 8th Energy Research Programme of the Federal Government and will run until October 2029. The project partners want to jointly gain new insights for the further development of technology-open and practical drive solutions and thus contribute to the future transformation of agriculture.