The mainline tractor manufacturers have been looking hard at future energy sources for their machines and New Holland is putting its weight firmly behind methane.
In what the company called a Low Carbon Tractor Showcase Event, held recently at Basildon, it stated its intention to help “revolutionise the farming industry by developing low-carbon tractor technology that utilises bio-methane, harnessing farm waste to reduce the sector’s CO2 emissions.”
Methane-powered T6 comes to market
The Low Carbon Tractor (LoCT) project was the title given to New Holland’s research into the development of methane technology for powering agricultural equipment.
This started with the first prototype tractor presented in 2013. Work on full-scale production over the last four years has since culminated in the first production-ready methane-powered tractor in the world.
The new tractor started serial production at the Basildon plant in June 2021 and was scheduled for sale from this autumn onwards.
At the event New Holland outlined its vision in trying to help farmers to become energy independent.
To this end, it has partnered with UK company, Bennamann, to deliver what is described as ‘an energy independent farm total solution’.
What New Holland proposes is the capture of the fugitive methane released by animal slurry to produce bio-methane.
Energy captured on the farm
This may then be used directly as a fuel to power tractors or to generate electricity for farm use. Harnessing the gas, which would otherwise be lost into the atmosphere, has two main benefits in reducing the farm’s carbon footprint.
The first is that the carbon emissions from slurry is minimised while a clean fuel is produced that will reduce the farm’s reliance on bought-in fuels, such as diesel.
This brings into prospect the idea that, on dairy farms at least, slurry and dung can now be viewed as a source of energy without detriment to its value as a fertiliser.
New Holland has already suggested that a 100-cow dairy herd produces enough methane to run the new 175hp tractor, although the purity of the gas will have a large impact on the delivery of power.
However, in addition to purchase of the tractor, investment is required in structures to capture the gas, storage tanks, compressors and scrubbers to purify it.
So far, there is little indication as to how much these items will cost.