The University of Nebraska will study how on-farm biomethane production can support this equipment
New Holland donated two tractors powered by alternative fuels for research on how some farming practices can help fuel the tractors in the future.
The manufacturer’s plant in Grand Island donated two New Holland T6.180s, the world’s first 100% methane-powered tractor, to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The tractors will be stationed at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead where researchers will look at how to convert the working farm’s plant waste and livestock manure into biomethane to fuel the tractor.
The tractors are ideal for farms with biodigesters, which convert plant waste and livestock manure into biomethane.
“We decided as an industry to go after a renewable resource, the renewable resource being natural gas or methane,” Joshua Richardson, field after-sales manager with CNH, told Nebraska TV. “Basically, we compress the methane into 3000 psi, store it in a tank, and then this is an actual compression engine where it uses spark plugs just like a normal gasoline engine or the old propane engines back in the day.”
The tractors can also run on compressed natural gas.
New Holland introduced the concept of the methane tractor in 2017 with the idea that farms can become energy independent and to reduce operating costs.
“It produces 99 % less particulate matter, cuts overall emissions by 80% and when using methane reduces CO2 emissions by 10-15%. When running on biomethane near-zero CO2 emissions are achievable,” the EU CAP Network, a platform designed to improve ag and rural policies, said about the tractor.
CNH has donated T6.180 tractors to other universities too.
Ohio State University, Michigan State University, and Penn State University have all received the methane-powered tractors from CNH for research on fuel efficiency.