An Italian company has invented a tractor that runs on cow dung.

The tractor is known as the New Holland T6. It weighs 21,000 pounds (almost ten tonnes) and is powered by 180-horsepower engine.

The New Holland T6 tractor is as strong as a diesel tractor, yet it runs on liquid methane. Its 49-gallon tank emits 62% less nitrous oxide and up to 15% less carbon dioxide, all while running on the manure of around 75 cows eternally.

A firm located in Italy is working to replace polluting diesel tractors with ones that run entirely on methane, which is typically sourced from animal waste such as cow dung on a large farm.

Methane is a result of nearly all organic decomposition and accounts for approximately 20% of global warming-causing emissions. Clients that have excess methane can sell it, burn it in a generator, or even send it back to the grid. Manure earns more money than milk and meat on some Bennamann farms.

New Holland T6

According to reports, the tractor is known as the New Holland T6. It weighs 21,000 pounds (almost ten tonnes) and is powered by a 180-horsepower engine. Its 185-litre tank emits 62% less nitrous oxide and up to 15% less carbon dioxide. The T6 costs $203,000, which is roughly 30% more than a regular diesel tractor.

Nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide are emitted by heavy-duty agricultural equipment. They continuously generate a cloud of methane, which contributes 80 times more to global warming than carbon dioxide.

While electric vehicles are being developed to address the issue, a need for 'alternative fuels' has also been identified.

The most crucial component of the T6 development process, ironically, had little to do with the tractor itself. CNH sought a method to capture and convert methane, and it found it in a company called Bennamann Ltd.

Bennamann has been producing synthetic fabric domes, or membranes, that stretch over manure lagoons and absorb drifting gas in the same way as a tented parachute in gym class does. This year, CNH acquired a majority share in the company.

Yet, the company believes that customers can recoup the high prices in less than a year due to the low cost of methane fuel sourced from cow manure refills.