New Holland trials first biomethane powered tractor in Spain

Bodegas Torres and New Holland, Turin-based manufacturer of agricultural machinery, signed a

collaboration agreement to conduct the first field trial in Spain of a prototype tractor powered by

biomethane. This pioneering initiative responds not only to the environmental commitment of both

companies to explore renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 emissions, but also to a shared vision on

the future of agriculture, which passes through sustainability and self-generation of energy.

To check the operation of the second-generation T6 Methane Power prototype of New Holland,

Bodegas Torres is performing, during the month of May, tests at its farm in L’Aranyó, in the heart of Les

Garrigues, in the province of Lleida, which has an area of 175 hectares of vineyards and 80 ha of olive

trees.

The test unit is a standard tractor with a 6-cylinder engine and 175 horsepower, which uses natural gas

or biomethane, stored in nine cylinders. It has a total capacity of 300 liters of CNG, equivalent to 60

liters of diesel, which gives the tractor a range of approximately half a day of normal activities. The

tractor has three catalysts and thus meets the Tier 4B emissions regulations, without needing additional

aftertreatment systems.

The natural gas tractor is a virtually zero impact unit in terms of carbon emissions – it offers 80% less

emissions than a standard diesel tractor – and it may represent fuel savings of 20-40%. CO2 emissions

can be reduced even further with the use of biomethane, which could produce farmers themselves in

the same farm where the tractor is provided.

NGS INDIA