New Holland's NH2 fuel cell
tractor – the first to be shown by any tractor maker – finally
broke cover in Turin, Italy today.
Based on a T6000 tractor, it runs on hydrogen and oxygen and
produces no emissions at all.
Essentially, a fuel cell works a bit like a giant battery, with
a pair of electrodes surrounded by an electricity-conducting
solution. Hydrogen (stored at 350bar pressure in a tank) is passed
over one electrode, while oxygen (from the air) is passed over the
other. The electric current generated then passes to a pair of
electric motors, one to drive the tractor and the other to run the
pto and auxiliary services.
The NH2's fuel cell generates 106hp and sends the
power via a splitter to the four wheels. There's no gearbox or
clutch increasing or decreasing speed and power simply involve
putting more or less power into the motor. Going into reverse is
easy - you simply reverse the fuel cell terminals.
New Holland is the first to admit that there is still a lot of
development needed before this tractor will be on sale in dealers.
For a start, the hydrogen tank only holds enough fuel to power the
tractor for 1.5-2hours.
New Holland plans to have the NH2 fuel cell
tractor out for testing in two years' time
In the cab, the tractor is eerily silent. In fact the only sound
is the electric motor working, which is a bit like the noise a
child's radio-controlled tractor makes. And when it's stationary
there is no noise at all. The usual vertical exhaust pipe is gone,
too all you can see is a small pipe under the cab that lets the
water (the only by-product of the fuel cell) out.
New Holland says it plans to have the NH2 out for
testing in two years and production models by 2013. Not
surprisingly, no price tags have been mooted and the €300,000 cost
of the fuel cell alone illustrates the fact that this a tractor
still some way away from production.
What's the point of a fuel-cell tractor? Zero emissions and zero
reliance on fossil fuels are the main attractions. That may not be
that important now, but in 10 or 20 years they're likely to be
essential qualities for any vehicle.
Of course you still have to use electricity to electrolise water
into hydrogen and oxygen in the first place. But New Holland says
farms would be ideal places to produce that electricity from wind,
solar or biomass sources and make their own fuel.
Want to see more from Turin? See our exclusive pictures from the
launch
here. And if you've something you've got to say, post it on our
forums.