METHANE POWERED TRACTOR AWARDED

New Holland Agriculture was crowned with the Sustainable Tractor of the Year 2022 prize for their world’s first production T6 Methane Power Tractor at the EIMA exhibition which has been taking place this week in Bologna, Italy (19-23 October 2021).

The jury panel of farm equipment journalists from across Europe singled out the T6 from shortlisted tractors in three main categories. 

Carlo Lambro, New Holland brand president, said of the win, “This is the culmination of New Holland’s pioneering work on the use of alternative fuels through our Clean Energy Leader strategy, and it is a significant step forward on the path to decarbonizing agriculture.

"This award is a well-deserved recognition of the hard work and dedication of all those involved in the development of the T6.180 Methane Power tractor series, from our engineering teams to the whole Basildon plant team.”

Oscar Baroncelli , head of tractor product management, added, “The T6 Methane Power tractor we are presenting here at EIMA is our production unit, and this technology is available to our customers now. With the economic and practical advantages it brings, further enhanced when using biomethane, we expect a lot of interest from biogas plant operators and suppliers, and also farmers with access to the gas network. Municipalities are also showing a lot of interest in adding this tractor to their fleets of Compressed Natural Gas vehicles to further reduce their emissions footprint.”

New Holland is producing  the  full series production at the brand’s Basildon tractor plant for Europe, with units currently undergoing practical testing by farmers across European markets.

Mark Howell, global product manager alternative fuel at New Holland, said, “The benefit of methane as a fuel is that it can create a circular energy system. When burned in controlled circumstances in an engine like that in the T6.180 Methane Power, the by-products are carbon dioxide and water.

"When you consider the CO2 released in creating the fuel, not only do our customer benefit from the 11% CO2 saving for the exhaust pipe but they can also benefit from the source of the fuel. When using methane produced from a biogas plant with a mixture of waste and crops customers can achieve carbon neutral, but when the methane is collected directly from a slurry lagoon, not only are the methane emissions being stopped from escaping into the atmosphere it is being used instead of a fossil fuel bringing a double benefit in CO2 savings.

"Farms can become not just food producers, but fuel sources too, and methane-fuelled tractors are the enablers for this circular process. Waste products such as livestock manures suddenly become valuable fuel sources. Methane is cleaner to handle when refuelling and during combustion in the engine. It is a fuel readily available and this allows our customers to start the move to lower their CO2 today rather than waiting for other fuels that may or may not come in the future”.