Hydrogen-powered tractor wows crowds

Crowds flocked to the first public UK appearance of New Holland’s NH² concept tractor.

Visitors to LAMMA 2010 event at the Newark Showground were able to get a close look at the ground-breaking, innovative hydrogen-powered tractor.

Because of the large amounts of power needed for tractors – and the low levels of energy recovery – batteries are an unsuitable power source for this type of vehicle.

So the electricity which powers the NH² is produced from hydrogen using fuel cells. This means the tractor operates almost silently and emits only water and steam.

Fuel cells have a long service life and do not cause the same environmental and waste disposal problems as batteries. Nor do they lose storage capacity over time.

The NH² was developed last year, using compressed hydrogen with a high energy density.

Fuel can easily be stored in a tank over a long period which means vehicles can be refilled quickly and conveniently.