Company unveils world’s first tractor to run on … cow poop

Alternative fuels are a hot topic across industries, as companies look for new and better ways to generate, use, and store energy. One industry being impacted by this shift towards sustainability is farming. Farmers are always looking for machinery that can provide the power they need with fewer emissions and lower operating costs.

To help farmers reach their green goals, New Holland Agriculture, a division of CNH Industrial, has partnered with Bennamann to introduce the T7 Methane Power LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tractor. The 270-horsepower tractor, which is currently in the pre-production, prototype phase, offers increased fuel capacity over previous models and delivers power similar to diesel tractors. Best of all, the T7 will be the world’s first tractor to run on liquefied biomethane sourced from livestock manure. You heard me right. This tractor runs on cow dung.

According to the company, here’s how it works. “A tried-and-tested energy independent sustainable farm system sees collected livestock manure transferred to a covered slurry lagoon or tank, where the emitted fugitive methane (alongside other polluting gases) is captured, subsequently being purified and converted into liquefied methane using a processing unit. A liquification unit can simply be bolted on to an existing CNG processing unit for further flexibility – ideal for farms which already produce their own biomethane.

Bennamann’s patented non-venting cryogenic storage tanks keep the methane as a liquid at -162°C, producing a new source of clean power for the T7 Methane Power LNG tractor. Furthermore, this technology enables LNG to be transported, similar to diesel, to wherever it is required, meaning farms which do not have the ability to produce LNG on-site can still benefit from its advantages, as well as enabling flexible in-field refueling during intense operational windows.”