The rise of alternative energy sources in agriculture

Within the next two years, it is anticipated that around 8000 public transport buses in NSW will move to zero emissions using a mix of battery power and fuel cell electric hydrogen.

Hydrogen is more versatile than you think. It can be injected into a gas network as a means of de-carbonising and controlling gas pricing, can be used as clean fuel on-farm or as a fuel stock by converting renewable hydrogen into renewable ammonia.

Speaking at a recent webinar, Australia Hydrogen Council director, Dr Neil Thompson, said the high carbon miles for diesel transport was an issue for Australia.

He said a fuel cell truck program for Australia had been developed to provide FCET for replacement of diesel trucks in Western Australia and NSW.

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New York based Hyzon Motors, a spin-off of Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, plans to establish a division of the company in Australia. It will set up technical support and project management capabilities serving both the Australian and New Zealand markets.

The decarbonisation of commercial transport with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is expected to begin this year.

“Our European customers are keen to see the carbon mileage and intensity of their farm produce so these trucks will certainly help to improve that competitive advantage in Australia around hydrogen systems,” Dr Thompson said.

“BP is setting up a feasibility study at Geraldton to examine the production of large scale hydrogen and ammonia – we will start seeing major fuel retailers publicly announcing their transition to hydrogen fuel and ammonia.”

He added the conversion of waste products on-farm to biogas and hydrogen created new opportunities for downstream products such as industrial food stock.

“The pandemic has accelerated the process due to the awareness around fuel supply security,” he said.

“In agribusiness and regional Australia, we have had a large number of inquiries, including from local councils using their waste water treatment plants for regional hydrogen production to power assets.

“This could be made available at a low cost to local agribusinesses who can buy in liquid or gaseous nitrogen, store it on farm and start the transition process.”

Jon Elder and Karin Stark run an irrigated cropping enterprise at 2500ha Narromine in central western NSW.

The couple has two deep-water bores to irrigate 550ha of cotton over summer and cereals over winter, with the diesel driven pumps costing $3000 a day to run, or $400,000 a year.

One bore was converted to solar-diesel hybrid at a cost of $900,000 plus GST with a payback period of five years.

Now, the couple pumps 60 per cent of their water licence using solar only.

At $1/litre, the saving of 180,000 litres of diesel equates to $180,000 a year.

“We used to pump using diesel 24/7 over summer for three to four months but now we slowly fill the water reservoirs from April through to planting using solar as much as we can throughout the year,” Stark said.

The bore is run from 6am to 6pm to catch as much solar as possible.

“Our emission savings are 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, the equivalent to 40 households,” Stark added.

“It took about one hectare of land to install the 500kWh solar system of 1550 panels in September 2018.”

A 500kVA diesel generator is used at alternate times of the day to power the bore pump during shortfalls of the solar power.

Stark said despite a strong business case, the uptake of the technology by irrigators had not been as strong as they expected.

According to Elder, diesel consumption could rise to 700,000 litres a year for pumping on a good cropping year.

“The economics of what we hoped to achieve has worked out well so we are on target for a five year payback on our investment,” he said.

“In terms of alternative energy on our farm, we are interested in capturing excess energy produced during pumping and using it on the farm.

“To capture that excess power, we have looked at batteries but the cost was around $650,000 with a payback period of over 11 years.

“We are now looking at the possibility of producing hydrogen with that excess energy or using it to drive a hydrogen fuel cell.”

Stark said the excess solar could produce 14kg of hydrogen equating to 45-50 litres of diesel.

Dutch agronomist and engineer, Paul van Ham, has been attracting attention from European farmers over the past few years with his electric tractor.

But priced at over 500,000 euros, the tractors are yet to become mainstream.

He gave an insight into the developments of what is, at the moment, a novel machine- the H2Trac E120.

The benefits of the tractor’s electric drive system may become the norm over the horizon, he hoped.

Van Ham originally developed a prototype after talking with growers on controlled traffic systems seven years ago.

The E120 features four strong electric wheel motors of 22-44kW, a 35kWh battery pack, range extender with a 120hp engine for 24-hour operation, two hitches and hydraulic features, and a comfortable wide cabin.

Weighing 7000kg, the tractor has big wheels angles for rapid cornering in a 9.6m radius and farmers can mount the cab towards the front, middle or back.

It is equipped with adjustable axles to cater for all track widths from 2.25-3.2m.

“This machine is being built in the Netherlands and from the summer of 2022 will be produced for the world market, including Australia,” Van Ham said.

“This tractor drives like an electric car and is so smooth, with steering on all four wheels.

“We believe the grower should have a cabin around him so he can see and act on what is needed as farming is much more than just robotics on your field."

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Van Ham is working on a side project involving an autonomous system for the tractor but said reducing the machine size on broadacre farms was not a solution.

“We have made a nice machine that can do everything the farmer wants but the energy problem is only partly solved,” he said.

“The diesel and biogas is deliverable in 2021-22, and the hydrogen fuel cell will be a prototype next year.

“There is a nice price tag on that type of tractor for sure but we have to start somewhere with this kind of solution, otherwise we will never get rid of diesel energy.”

Farmers for Climate Action deputy chairman, Charlie Prell, said the vision of a tractor which drives like an electric car was exciting.

“There are plenty of people who don’t think that is possible but it’s already here," he said.

“I encourage people to start thinking about climate change as a door open to an opportunity rather than doom and gloom. If you are prepared to confront the challenges and overcome them, there is excitement and reward in that.

“Australian farmers pride themselves on being innovative and we need to not get distracted by those who can’t see the opportunity this future is presenting.”