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While we continue to search for sustainable fuel alternatives to power agriculture’s prime movers, a glimpse into the not so distant future was given by CNH Industrial at its Tech Days held in Arizona at the end of 2022.
For a country like New Zealand, with a major reliance on dairy, the New Holland T7 Methane Power LNG Prototype Tractor makes a great deal of sense.
With an eye firmly set on sustainability, CNHI have worked in conjunction with UK-based Bennamann, who are industry leaders in the capture and repurpose of fugitive methane emissions for energy use. This means this T7 prototype tractor comes equipped with cutting edge technology, but also with a tried and tested solution to create full energy independence on the farm and bring sustainable benefits to customers.
Bennamann has been researching and developing biomethane production for over a decade, leading to an investment is late 2020, where the local authority invested £1.58m (NZ$3m) into a multi-farm pilot project spearheaded by Bennamann to trial the production, aggregation and sale of biomethane fuels made from cow manure slurry.
The first pilot farm located near Saltash, the gateway to rural Cornwall, saw the T7 Methane Power LNG Pre-Production Prototype put through its paces and had its functionality proven within a sustainable, energy independent farm.
The initiative is centered around installing Bennamann’s proprietary sealed slurry lagoon-based biogas capture technology on the farm. Captured gas at the lagoon is temporarily stored above its surface until processed using a newly developed, highly innovative, mobile version of Bennamann’s novel BioCycle unit. Patented non-venting cryogenic storage tanks keep the methane as a liquid at -162°C, with the technology enabling LNG to be transported, like diesel, enabling flexible in-field refueling during intense operational windows.
The resulting biomethane produced can then be used in several ways, including powering low emission vehicles in the local authority’s transport fleet, while also being converted into electricity to power the farms. Additionally, the process results in a 100% natural fertilizer as a by-product for use on farm. The pilot is said to be of significant benefit to the environment, with the typical CO2 reduction for a 120-cow farm could be equivalent to around 100 western households, helping the County of Cornwall to become carbon neutral by 2030.
On the ground at Trenance Farm, which spans 134 acres of grass- MARK DANIEL This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. land, with 110 Friesiancross dairy cows, a new slurry lagoon and on-site plant room containing the biogas filtration system and slurry handling pumps was commissioned in late 2021. Shortly after, it began producing vehicle grade fugitive methane through Bennamann’s mobile BioCycle unit. Crucially the methane has been used to support field testing of the T7 Methane Power LNG Pre-Production Prototype.
Already champions of alternative fuels, establishing its Clean Energy Leader Strategy in 2006, CNHI has already developed, prototyped and released the first ever commercialized natural gas tractor: The New Holland T6 Methane Power.
The arrival of the T7 Methane Power LNG will more than double the autonomy compared to a CNG design whilst boosting overall farm sustainability and delivering is a fourfold increase in fuel capacity. The pre-production prototype offers 270hp, delivering the same power and torque as a diesel tractor, but importantly without the need for any extra fuel tanks.
Other points of note, include making it is possible for an operation’s overall carbon footprint to be ‘better than zero, while the tractor’s surrounding environment also benefits from a significant reduction in driveby noise levels to only 66dBA, making it ideal for tasks near livestock or in urban areas.
Looking at the tractor layout, a patented active temperature-controlled fuel system incorporates a stainless-steel cryogenic tank, moulded to match its diesel counterparts, effectively storing the LNG within the standard dimensions of a conventional tractor, while offering 8 hours running time, even at maximum operational loading.
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