Carbon Charter Event, East Suffolk, 2025

The challenge has been to introduce good sustainable food production techniques while still addressing ecological enhancement imperative.

Farming techniques have changed from hand harvesting to more mechanised, technologically advanced systems.

Solar has been used on 115 sites and they are driving down gas use and intending to meet Net Zero targets.

For this reason, there has been a transition away from burning fossil fuels.

To address carbon footprint concerns and actively pursue clean energy alternatives, methane tractors have been developed from prototypes into fully operational vehicles.

They have the same power torque and servicing intervals, so there is no compromise in the transition from diesel to methane.

The history of the development of clean energy farm vehicles is outlined as follows:

- 2008 Tractors developed as using 100% biodiesel.

- 2009 Hydrogen tractors were developed but very expensive for little benefit.

- 2013 Migrated to gas 6 cylinder engine.

- 2017 A sustainable tractor of the year.

- 2021 Methane tractor production started.

In these tractors, particulate matter from exhausts were reduced by 98%. Nitrous oxide that contributes to acid rain was reduced by 62%. Co2 emissions were reduced by 11%.

Sources of gas

1- Bio-digester.

2- Mother station articulated lorry.

3- Out of piped grid throughout the UK.

4- Escaping gas from slurry pit can be captured.

120 cows per day is required to run vehicles. Liquid natural gas is the next technological step.

Batteries are not a suitable option to power farm vehicles due to the battery weight. Batteries for electric vehicles only runs well on small equipment. Methane is the most viable source of clean energy as it is more cost effective and power dense than hydrogen.