Dutch engineer Rosier Greidanus has swapped the six-pot diesel in a 2014-built 6150R for a 170hp MAN engine that runs on methane gas.
Some industry insiders reckon diesel will continue to fuel tractors for many years to come, while others suggest that emission reducing alternatives providing the same power, torque and range will come much quicker. All manufacturers have earmarked large chunks of their R&D budget to explore electric and hydrogen technologies. Methane as a power source is also under the spotlight, New Holland stealing
an early lead with the methane-powered T6 which is now commercially available.
Inspired dealer
On-farm generated biogas extracted from an AD plant filled with muck and slurry is a fuel that Rosier Greidanus also sees as offering potential, especially in the current energy situation. Based on an industrial site at Winsum in the dairy province of Friesland, the Dutch firm has years of experience servicing and repairing John Deere tractors and slurry kit for local dairy farms. A Zunhammer slurry tanker and Holmer dealer, the company also makes an in-house range of Buffalo slurry pumps, some of which have been sold to the UK.
There are numerous AD plants in Friesland, and the Dutch engineer was keen to develop a tractor to run on
methane gas. The first ideas for this were mulled over a decade ago when the Valtra Dual Fuel tractor arrived in the Netherlands. “We looked at it, but concluded that it was not the ideal solution,” comments
Siebren Greidanus, joint owner of Rosier Greidanus with Wietze Rosier.
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