Bennamann, a UK-based leader in solutions to collect, reuse, and store fugitive methane emissions for use as energy, has purchased a majority share in CNH Industrial, one of the top global players in the farm equipment sector, which is extending its alternative fuel capabilities.
Together with CNH Industrial machinery, Bennamann’s infrastructure, according to the company, provides a carbon-negative system that completely supports a cyclical economy in agriculture. Its standing and portfolio in alternative energy for the farm sector will improve as a result of this decision.
One of agriculture’s biggest environmental problems, according to the agricultural machinery giant, is the need to reduce emissions of gases like methane and CO2 from biowaste and operations. The New Holland T6.180 Methane Power tractor, the first tractor in the world to operate on compressed natural gas, is one of the sustainable alternative power options that CNH Industrial has been developing for more than 20 years to assist farms in meeting this challenge. Alternative fuels and electricity can significantly reduce a farmer’s carbon impact while improving working freedom, efficiency, and even revenue.
“By consolidating our share in Bennamann, we are offering our customers a full energy production, storage, and distribution service,” said Derek Neilson, President of Agriculture at CNH Industrial. With this approach, farms can be converted into tiny energy centers that can meet their own energy requirements, create their own organic fertilizer, and market any extra gas. They can also produce their own energy thanks to it. We can now service a wide range of uses and help move the world toward carbon-neutral energy, making us a real alternative energy enabler.
CNH Industrial’s relationship with Bennamann began in 2019 when it jointly developed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel tank for a prototype tractor. In 2021, its venture investment arm acquired a minority stake in the business. On a pilot farm in the UK, the shared technologies are capturing fugitive emissions from farm biowaste – specifically livestock manure slurry – which are then purified into biomethane that is subsequently either compressed or liquefied.
Both can be used as fuel for cars, as a source of energy, or even to power homes or farms, and the waste products from the converting process can be used as organic fertilizer. Overall, the method gives the farm electricity independence, lowers input costs, and may even open up new income sources. The New Holland T7 Methane Power LNG, the first liquefied fugitive methane tractor prototype ever introduced, is a result of this effort and is effectively carbon negative when powered by Bennamann’s system.
According to a study conducted by CNH Industrial, a 120-cow farm using its shared methane capture system can yearly cut CO2 emissions by the same amount as 100 western European households, or about 780 tonnes.
Why Liquefied Fugitive Methane?
Compared to sustainable energy sources like hydrogen and compressed natural gas, liquefied methane (a natural gas) is much simpler to keep and effectively disseminate. (CNG). As a result, even in the most distant places like building sites, liquefied methane can be used as a direct and appropriate alternative to fossil fuels in high power uses.
