UK-based AFC Energy (AFC) has launched a $2m ammonia cracking engine agreement with Japanese multinational supplier Komatsu and its affiliate Industrial Power Alliance.

The trio will research the feasibility of producing an ammonia-fuelled engine platform which can be scaled.

Komatsu is a $43bn powerhouse in industrial equipment, operating bulldozers, dump trucks and excavators.

It would mark the first utilisation of AFC’s technology for industrial heavy equipment.

The firm has recently carved out a niche supplying its portable ammonia crackers and generators in the construction sector.