New Holland’s T7 Methane Power LNG tractor won a Special Mention in the worldwide famous TIME’s Best Invention List in the 2023 edition. This year’s special mentions list featured 50 inventions recognized for their unique impact.
The list is curated by TIME’s editors who look for inventions across several categories – including technology, beauty, entertainment, health care. TIME selects innovations that are solving compelling problems in creative ways. This year, TIME has been expanding their categories in response to the rapidly-changing progress in fields such as artificial intelligence, sustainability and more, paying special attention to growing fields—such as the electric vehicle industry, green energy, and the metaverse.
Carlo Lambro, New Holland Brand President said: “It’s an honor to receive such a prestigious recognition from TIME, a publication with an esteemed legacy in journalism. This Mention reflects the long commitment New Holland has in sustainability in the agricultural sector.”
For over 15 years New Holland has been producing alternative propulsion products that provide the agricultural industry with real world solutions towards its goal of sustainability.
A farm’s carbon footprint is a major factor in determining its sustainability, however farmers still need powerful tractors that can run around the clock. Natural gas, and especially biomethane, are presently the ideal solutions to guarantee higher horsepower machine performance, while also lowering emissions and reducing operating costs.
New Holland’s T7 Methane Power LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tractor is an industry first and the latest development in the brand’s Methane Power tractor offering. It offers farmers an alternative fuel tractor while also boosting overall farm sustainability. With its LNG power solution, using liquefied methane delivers four times as much fuel storage capacity when compared to compressed gas (CNG). With fuel autonomy for a working day and with its 270hp, there’s no difference in performance between the LNG and a diesel tractor.
The LNG tractor can be fueled by fugitive methane, strategically captured from livestock waste slurry lagoons. The methane is converted into fuel-grade liquefied natural gas (LNG) using patented cryogenic processes solving the low boiling point challenge historically seen with this fuel source.
If compared to diesel, the high energy density of LNG emits 80% less carbon monoxide emissions, 90% less non-methane hydrocarbons, 98% less particulate matter, and 62% less nitrous oxide. The T7 LNG when fueled by captured and processed bio LNG can reduce C02 emissions by 878 tons per year.
So far, the LNG tractor has worked across multiple continents with prototypes being developed and tested to continue to deliver the best experience for farmers around the world.