First came the solar-powered vehicles, then came cars that run on electricity. People have been looking for ways to power transportation without using the usual gas and diesel.
Here is New Holland’s brand new tractor that runs on liquified methane. This is beneficial for farmers because it enables them to lower their emissions and save cash on rising diesel costs.
It has also been deemed as efficient for several other reasons. The company behind this innovative method says the fuel can actually be produced easily by methane that comes from cow pies. By doing this, they will be able to follow a more circular economic model in the most circular industry that is also just as important.
The breakthrough 270hp tractor is said to match the performance of the standard diesel-powered ones. In fact, this machine is a pioneer in the industry and it was developed by a British company called Bennamann. They have been hard at work researching and developing biomethane production for more than 10 years now.
The waste byproducts that comes from a herd as small as 100 cows can be transformed into a fuel called fugitive methane. This is done in a biomethane storage unit that is also found on the farm itself.
In order to make the tractor work, a cryogenic tank is fitted on the tractor. This keeps the methane in liquid form at -162 °C. This provides the vehicle as much power as a diesel. The main difference is that they can significantly save on emission.
They had a pilot test run for the tractor and it was put through its paces on a farm found in Cornwall. They noticed that the carbon dioxide emissions in the area were cut by a good amount as it went from 2,500 metric tons to 500 metric tons in just one year.
“The T7 liquid methane-fuelled tractor is a genuine world-first and another step towards decarbonising the global agricultural industry and realizing a circular economy,” said Bennamann co-founder, Chris Mann.
The company is also setting aside budget as they want to invest on the wider uses of the technology. They have hopes that this could someday be used to charge electric vehicles that are found in rural locations.
Both the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) are working on funding together a study to assess the scale of fugitive methane emissions that are in Cornwall, which is where the Bennanmann’s headquarters is found.
They will look deeper into the current emissions from sites such as dairy farms and wastewater treatment plants to see if this same technology could be applied in the area. The collaboration will also study the future potential of biomethane to be used as fuel for the transport and agriculture sectors.
“If we can make our agriculture industry energy-independent in the face of soaring input costs and volatile energy prices, while reducing emissions, then we can provide a huge economic boost for rural communities, greater food security, and move towards net zero,” said chairman of the LEP, Mark Duddridge.
“These applications are not limited to agriculture or Cornwall. They are global,” he also added.
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