Cummins Inc. and Buhler Industries Inc., a leading tractor manufacturer under the Versatile brand, announced recently that they have signed a letter of intent and plan to integrate the Cummins 15-liter hydrogen engines in Versatile’s equipment to lead the decarbonization of the agriculture market.
Since 1967, Versatile has used Cummins engines exclusively in all four-wheel drive tractors. For decades, both Versatile and Cummins have been leaders in technology innovation and delivering reliable performance to farmers across the globe. Each company is uniquely positioned to build on their exceptional histories in agriculture as they step forward into new powertrain technologies.
“While diesel engines continue to be the flexible power of choice in agriculture for the foreseeable future, such a collaboration enables both companies to develop low- and zero-carbon solutions that are ideally suited to farming,” said Adam Reid, Versatile’s Vice-President of Sales and Marketing.
Hydrogen combustion engines will provide a cost effective zero-carbon fueled solution for high load factor and high utilization applications. Key benefits of using this technology include enabling a more timely solution to reduce carbon emissions without sacrificing productivity. It minimizes the impact on the machine design for manufacturers, allowing common parts and components across platforms to drive scale advantages, reducing costs. When integrated in farm equipment, farmers will have a solution that is dependable, as well as easy to service and maintain, according to Ann Schmeizer, VP of Marketing at Cummins.
Editor’s Take:
And, we’re off to the races! Which form of alternative energy will truly power our future? The answer is yet to be written, but it appears there are several competing alternatives of which hydrogen is clearly one of the prime competitors. The availability of hydrogen as a fuel source is abundant. The ability to adapt current combustion engine technology seems to support the effort, but at what cost? Many OEM’s in both equipment and auto seem to support the EV route. Can we afford to build more than one major infrastructure to support these alternatives? Then there is the elephant in the room – fossil fuels. According to all estimates, there seems to be a very adequate supply of fossil fuels and we already have the infrastructure in place to handle it. So, who is the winner? Only time will tell. But you can bet farmers and ranchers will ultimately support the one that is best for their operation. In the meantime, we encourage you to use all the tools in your toolkit to sell the trucks and SUV’s on your lot to the farmers and ranchers in your area. Be sure to use the CAD marketing materials, AgTruckTrader.com, AgPack and, of course, just a simple reminder that you are a CAD member who supports agriculture!
