At the ignition ceremony, leaders and experts including Wu Zhixin, Chairman of the Electric Vehicle Sub-Technical Committee of the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization; Li Shusheng, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Internal Combustion Engines; Jia Bin, Secretary-General of the China Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association; Wang Tianyou, Executive Vice President of Tianjin University; Lin He, Executive Vice President of the Wuxi Carbon Neutrality Power Technology Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Zhong Yuwei, Deputy General Manager of Yuchai Co., Ltd.; and Lin Tiejian, Chief Engineer of Yuchai Co., Ltd., jointly witnessed this historic moment.

The successful ignition of the world's first large-displacement dedicated hybrid high-pressure direct-injection pure ammonia internal combustion engine is a historic breakthrough for Yuchai in zero-carbon power research. It achieved the implementation and verification of coordinated operation with a high-pressure ammonia-to-hydrogen system and the ignition of high-pressure direct-injection liquid ammonia via pre-chamber jet ignition. The engine integrates multiple key advanced core technologies, including a pent-roof combustion chamber, an active pre-chamber, in-cylinder high-pressure direct injection of liquid ammonia, a low-temperature high-efficiency after-treatment coupling for conversion of multi-nitrogen-based products, and intelligent control of coordinated injection of multi-hydrogen-based fuels. Its thermal efficiency is on par with the highest thermal efficiency of existing heavy-duty diesel engines, creating a new zero-carbon power solution for heavy-duty long-haul commercial vehicles that balances full life-cycle cost advantages with low-carbon emission reduction needs, and helping to drive the green and zero-carbon transformation of traditional internal combustion engines.

In terms of the controller, the project specifically developed a dedicated hybrid ammonia internal combustion engine controller, filling the gap in Yuchai's independent development of core control software for dedicated hybrid ammonia internal combustion engines. This self-developed controller is equipped with a high-computing-power multi-core processor and a large-capacity storage module, with core control logic independently controllable. It can precisely regulate pre-chamber ignition, ammonia-hydrogen mixed gas, and liquid ammonia injection requirements, effectively enhancing Yuchai's core competitiveness in the field of zero-carbon internal combustion engines.

The ammonia-to-hydrogen system used in this ignition adopts the technical route of catalytic cracking for high-pressure hydrogen production, breaking through the technical barriers to efficient catalytic conversion of ammonia-to-hydrogen under low-temperature and high-pressure conditions. The system is equipped with a novel low-temperature ruthenium-based catalyst, which can achieve efficient hydrogen production from ammonia within the low-temperature range of 400°C to 450°C, significantly reducing the energy consumption and high-temperature losses of hydrogen production equipment.

In recent years, Yuchai has been deeply engaged in the low-carbon and zero-carbon power fields, achieving full-chain breakthroughs from hydrogen energy and ammonia energy to methanol power. In hydrogen energy, it successfully developed the YCK16H, China's largest-displacement hydrogen-fueled engine, and completed demonstration operation of the complete vehicle; it has also mastered PEM hydrogen production technology and launched a 30 kW-class high-efficiency electrolyzer. In the ammonia energy field, it delivered China's first ammonia dual-fuel low-speed engine, the 6X52DF-A-1.0, marking the entry of China's marine power into the zero-carbon shipping track. In methanol power, it overcame the technical challenge of methanol being difficult to ignite, launched China's highest-power spark-ignition single methanol engine, and obtained classification society certification. In addition, Yuchai has built a flexible fuel technology platform to provide core power support for multi-energy transportation.

In the future, Yuchai will actively respond to the national "dual carbon" strategic goals, comprehensively layout zero-carbon power technology research and development, base itself on a new starting point and high standards, continue to deeply cultivate the frontiers of power technology, take independent research and development as the core, build a complete independent intellectual property system for dedicated hybrid ammonia internal combustion engines, and be committed to building innovative R&D capabilities in the field of ammonia energy application. Together with partners, it will build a full-chain demonstration application ecosystem for ammonia energy in transportation, lead the green and high-quality transformation of the industry, and contribute key strength to the optimization of China's transportation structure and the realization of the "dual carbon" strategic goals.