Tractor maker backs methane capture

While using methane produced by capturing dairy herd effluent makes perfect sense, the tricky part is capturing the gas before cleaning and compressing it ready for storage, the latter a problem seen in the T6 unit that needs multiple storage vessels around the tractor.

Bennamann, based in Cornwall, was founded in 2011. It has developed what it describes as the Bennamann cycle, a circular model which reclaims fugitive methane from cattle and uses it to power machinery.

This is a similar cycle to that being suggested by New Holland. Bennamann have solved the problem of clumsy gas cylinders bolted around the extremities of the tractor.

The next part of the equation will be the development of methane capture at a commercial level on-farm, now likely to be addressed with the resources that New Holland can bring to the table.

Following the acquisition, a New Holland statement suggests it does not expect to confine itself to the prospect of powering tractors from effluent, explaining the captured methane might also play a role in generating electricity and heating homes.

By already collaborating with Bennamann previously, development has led to the introduction of the world’s first liquefied fugitive methane tractor prototype, the New Holland T7 Methane Power LNG, which is operationally carbon negative when fuelled by Bennamann’s system. Research has found that a 120-cow farm operating with shared methane capture technology can reduce the CO2 equivalent of 100 western European households – about 780 tons annually.

Looking at the science of Liquified Fugitive Methane more closely, due to its high energy density, liquefied methane (a natural gas) is much easier to store and efficiently distribute than renewable energy sources such as hydrogen and compressed natural gas.

This makes liquefied methane a direct and suitable replacement for fossil fuels in high power applications, even in the most remote locations such as construction sites.

In other news, CNH Industrial, having already secured a minority stake in Augmenta in March 2021, has recently bought the remainder of the business for around US$110m, to accelerate the growth of precision technology on sprayers and fertiliser spreaders.

Augmenta focuses on developing precision farming solutions based on computer vision and artificial intelligence. These include a real-time solution that uses roofmounted, multispectral 4K cameras that scan the field ahead of the vehicle. Artificial intelligence calculates exactly what the crop needs in terms of fertiliser or crop protection products.

Augmenta will operate within CNH Industrial’s Raven brand (acquired in June 2021) as part of the company’s precision farming technology offering. It will maintain its existing employees and offices North America and its R&D facility in Athens, Greece.