Fendt hydrogen tractor on display at German hydrogen summit

The Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy in Germany, recently hosted a hydrogen summit. Here, Fendt presented the prototype of its hydrogen tractor for the first time.

Agriculture and forestry are of central importance for the energy transition. This applies to the production and use of energy on farms, just as it does to agricultural machinery. At the hydrogen summit in Straubing, technological potential and practical uses of hydrogen in agriculture and forestry were discussed under the question “Opportunities and possibilities for agriculture and forestry”. The participants came from the fields of science, politics, associations as well as from practice.

“I see hydrogen as a very important solution to problems in agriculture and forestry. Agriculture and forestry can supply a lot of energy, which can also be used to generate hydrogen. Agri-PV plants or wind power generate electricity on agricultural and forestry land and use it to produce hydrogen,” explains Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.

“Hydrogen from biogas plants or from forest residual wood is also conceivable. The crowning glory, of course, is when farmers themselves use hydrogen for their tractors or agricultural machinery. I hope that Fendt will continue to develop this prototype, because we need these things.”

Together with other partners, Fendt is participating in the H2Agrar agricultural model project in Lower Saxony to research a hydrogen infrastructure for agricultural use. In the model project, prototypes of a hydrogen powered tractor will be used on farms on a regular basis for the first time. To this end, Fendt will deliver its two first-generation prototypes to farms in Haren (Emsland) in Lower Saxony this coming April. The aim of the project is to research and establish an infrastructure for hydrogen for agriculture in the Emsland model region. The project has already won the DLG Agrifuture Concept Award 2022.