New Holland T6 Methane Tractor

New Holland was displaying a unique alternative fuel tractor at Expo 2015 in Italy. Sitting atop the sloping roof of the Sustainable Farm Pavilion in Milan is the T6 Methane Power tractor.

This is a second-generation prototype based on a standard New Holland T6 tractor. What makes it different from current T6 Series tractors is that it is powered by a natural gas engine manufactured by FPT International, a sister company of New Holland.

“The T6 Methane Power tractor is an example of the type of forward-thinking innovation that the world has come to expect from New Holland Agriculture,” said Chun Woytera, Senior Director of Marketing for New Holland North America. “New Holland strives to solve real-world problems our customers are experiencing, and the Methane Power tractor will help our customers increase productivity while decreasing energy dependence.”

A new video produced by CNH Industrial, parent of global agriculture machinery brand New Holland Agriculture, takes a closer look at the Methane Power tractor and what it is capable of achieving.

[vs-jwplayer movieid=”2Liv1ksdcMw” width=”580″ height=”326″ autoplay=”0″]

According to New Holland, the second generation T6 Methane Power tractor can bring fuel cost savings of 20% to 40%. In terms of environmental performance, it has 80% lower polluting emissions than a standard diesel tractor.

Carbon dioxide emissions can be further reduced by using biomethane, methane derived from biomass. The only changes to a standard tractor are those associated with the biomethane fuel, all other areas remain unaffected.

In the context of a future Energy Independent Farm which can grow the biomass and recycle its waste byproducts to produce its own biomethane, not only could carbon dioxide emissions be eliminated, but fuel costs could also be cut by as much as 40%.