Bio CNG Dual-Fuel Pack for Fendt Agricultural Tractors

Italy’s Ecomotive Solutions, a Holdim Group company, introduced the first dual-fuel biomethane

application for Fendt Tier4 agricultural tractors last month. Developed in collaboration with the Italian

Biogas Consortium and Piccini Paolo Group, the system provides for the use of natural gas or biomethane

as an alternative fuel for diesel tractors, storing this gas in the transportable Ecomotive Solutions ‘Bio

CNG Pack’.

Ecomotive Solutions explains that once the pack is connected, the tractor is ready to operate in the field

using biomethane (renewable natural gas – RNG) as fuel, regardless of whether this is produced locally by

the farm, drawn from a micro-station connected to the public network or, in the not-too- distant future,

taken from a Bio LNG renewable liquefied biomethane station.

The tractor engine has been optimised using d-gid Diesel Dual Fuel technology, developed by Ecomotive

Solutions: in real time, the d-gid ECU assesses how much diesel can be eliminated from the primary fuel

injection to the tractor, to allow for a secondary injection of natural gas or biomethane, calculating the

perfect amount to be added in order to ensure the smooth operation of the machine without triggering

losses of torque or power or compromising the reliability of the engine. The consistent replacement of

diesel with RNG serves to reduce the tractor’s CO2 emissions as well as slashing fuel operating costs via a

process of self-consumption.

“Today represents an important milestone in this initiative, which was first presented in 2014 with the

support of the Italian Biogas Consortium with a view to introducing the use of biomethane across the

diesel-powered agricultural vehicles already working on our farms. We believe that we have achieved our

goal, and have found the missing piece to the puzzle, fostering the self-consumption of locally-produced

biomethane, and in doing so, promoting the delivery of “zero-mileage”, short supply chain fuel to power

diesel engines.”

Now, on completion of the development and testing phases, the dual-fuel tractor is set to be transferred

to the headquarters of Ing.am. Ltd., one of the first Italian companies with a biomethane refuelling point,

validating the efficacy of this new system in the field.

NGS INDIA