Truck & Off-Highway Engineering – June 2019

16 June 2019 TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

FROM TOP: RYAN GEHM; CNH INDUSTRIAL

EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINTS

H

ybrid and electric powertrains were omnipresent at bauma

2019 in Munich, with several OEMs and engine manufactur-

ers showcasing electrified machines in near-production

form. But CNH Industrial bucked that trend, touting the

many benefits of biomethane instead.

“Everybody talks about electrification; however, we believe that on

the on-highway side as well as in off-highway there

is a ‘bridging technology’ that is here to stay—LNG

and CNG (liquefied and compressed natural gas),”

said Hubertus M. Mühlhäuser, CEO of CNH Industrial,

which includes brands Case, New Holland, Iveco and

FPT Industrial, among others.

“If you derive that gas not from fossil sources but

from bio sources, so biomethane, you’re actually tak-

ing out more CO 2 in the atmosphere [well-to-wheels]

than you can ever do with electrified powertrains,” he

continued. “That’s a logic that not yet everybody un-

derstands but that we’re going to push.”

Despite its goal to grow profitability, CNH

Industrial plans to “significantly” step up its R&D

investments this year, to $1.2 billion. The company

plans to introduce more than 100 new products and

upgrades in 2019.

Each of its various segments—both on- and off-

highway—is being disrupted by the same trends: alter-

native propulsion, digitalization, and automation. In the

propulsion realm, Mühlhäuser acknowledges that bat-

tery-electric will have a place in compact equipment,

but that fuel-cell electric makes more sense for heavy-

duty applications. “We believe [fuel cells] are still six to

seven perhaps eight years out; in the interim, you’re go-

ing to see more biomethane.”

While heavy-duty trucks and buses are currently

driving alternative propulsion technology at CNH, in-

cluding biomethane, it’s quite a different story when it

comes to automation.

“Off-highway is actually leading there,” said

Mühlhäuser. “If you look at our autonomous agricul-

tural equipment, it’s a reality. We have farms, specifi-

cally in the U.S. where the regulation is easier and the

farms are bigger, where you have completely autono-

mous tractors and combines. And you’re going to see

the same in construction equipment.”

For example, excavators are prime for fully autono-

mous operation, and the application is “most likely”

two to three years out. “It’s definitely coming, because

labor shortage is a fact, rising labor cost is a fact, and

also the accuracy of construction operations can be

significantly improved with automation,” he said.

All three megatrends are well-represented in the

technologies showcased in the Project Tetra wheel

loader concept that debuted at bauma.

Project Tetra concept

The new wheel loader concept—the first natural-gas

construction machine from Case

Construction Equipment—is powered

by a 6-cylinder NG/methane engine

from FPT Industrial’s NEF family. The

power unit delivers up to 230 hp (

kW) and 1,184 Nm (873 lb-ft)—identi-

cal to the equivalent diesel power-

plant—with fuel savings up to 30%.

Running on biomethane, CO 2 emis-

sions are reduced by 95% and pollut-

ing emissions by 80% compared to

diesel. Due to the reduction in pollut-

ing emissions, a simplified aftertreat-

ment system is employed, which fea-

tures a maintenance-free single stan-

dard catalytic converter.

The spark-ignited combustion sys-

tem also reduces vibration and engine

noise up to 5 dB, representing a 50%

reduction in drive-by noise. 

The fuel is stored within tanks in an

integrated storage unit fitted at the

The CEO of CNH Industrial says biomethane is cleaner path than electric,

as Case demos the alt fuel in cool wheel-loader concept.

by Ryan Gehm, based on presentation by CNH Industrial’s Hubertus Mühlhäuser

Bullish on biomethane

The Project Tetra wheel loader concept includes elements from CNH’s autonomous

vehicle development program, including advanced obstacle detection that can

automatically bring the machine to a halt if an obstacle comes into range.

“Biomethane is

not only a bridging

strategy [to fuel-

cell electric], it’s

here to stay.”

Hubertus

M. Mühlhäuser