Electronic Park Lock Actuator (EPLA)

Electronic Park Lock Actuator (EPLA)

The Global Hydrogen Tractor market showed a noticeable growth during the forecast years, i.e., 2020-2021. One of the factors attributed to the slow growth was the lower availability of tractor models using fuel-cell electric transmission. Additionally, with the higher prices of the existing model of FCEV tractors, the demand for the respective products was also on the lower side.

However, with various tractor manufacturing companies extensively working on the development and launch of hydrogen tractors, the market is anticipated to thrive in the forecast years, i.e., 2023-2030. In 2021, Hyundai announced its NorCal Zero project, which will begin operating 30 Xcient FCEVs in California in the second quarter of 2023. It was said to be the largest commercial deployment of Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks and tractors in the US.

Additionally, there are some other factors that can contribute to the upsurge in the demand for hydrogen tractors, such as rising government support in terms of subsidies, ease of establishing manufacturing units, etc.

For the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell electric tractors, it is necessary to first develop the hydrogen production and distribution ecosystem. Various government initiatives have been observed recently, which are anticipated to promote the establishment of this ecosystem. For instance, in January 2023, the government of India announced an investment of approximately USD 2.4 billion under its National Hydrogen Mission. The investment would help in linked incentive schemes for the buyers as well as assist in enhancing the production of hydrogen within India.

Additionally, with a high degree of focus on sustainability across all modes of commercial activities, of which agricultural work is a crucial part, the need for transforming tractors from diesel to fuel-cell electric (hydrogen) has also been on the higher side. According to the International Energy Association (IEA), the adoption of hydrogen across the globe has been on the higher side.

According to H2stations.org, around 1700 hydrogen fuel stations were present across the globe in 2023. Of these, a major portion of hydrogen fueling stations were in the Asia-Pacific region. Especially, China and Japan have been the forerunners in terms of the adoption of hydrogen for the upcoming adoption of new-age transportation reliant on it.

The Hydrogen Tractor market is expected to grow at a steady rate of around 60.49% owing to the growing awareness about safety, and preventing rollaway accidents and injuries.

• Based on by product, the hydrogen tractor market is segmented into proton exchange membrane fuel cell, phosphoric acid fuel cell, and solid oxide fuel cell. Of these proton exchange membrane fuel cell is anticipated to hold a considerable market share in the global hydrogen fuel cell market. As the respective types of fuel cell offer higher power density and low weight, which is important for transportation purposes. PEM also operate at a lower temperature, basically 80 degree Celsius, which helps to start the engines quickly and avoid the warm-up of engines. Other types of fuel cell batteries are mostly suited for low-end variants of tractors with limited operational usage.
• The global hydrogen tractor market is in the introductory phase as the majority of the manufacturers are working on retrofitting of the existing vast tractor fleet with hydrogen fuel cell technology. As the usage of sustainable fuel for agricultural equipment, including tractors, is readily improving, many of the companies have started offering an add-on retrofitting device in order to transform the existing tractor models to partially or fully operate through hydrogen. For instance, in 2020, New Fuel Station along with New Holland announced to launch of a combination of hydrogen and diesel tractors. The tractor is retrofitted with five cylinders of 11.5 kg capacity of hydrogen..
• For a better understanding of the market adoption of the shipbuilding industry, the market is analyzed based on its worldwide presence in countries such as North America (U.S., Rest of the World), Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Rest of Europe), Rest of World. The Europe Hydrogen Tractor market dominated the market and is expected to behave in the same fashion in the forecast period due to a combination of factors, including growing interest in sustainable transportation, increased urbanization, advancements in battery technology, government support, and increased investment. Consequently, some of the other factors have also proven to be conducive to the development and adoption of the respective technology. This includes government policies, private sector inclination towards offering low to no carbon emission products, consumer awareness towards low emission, and reduction of operational cost. Furthermore, Governments in the Europe region are promoting the use of Fuel cell technology through incentives and subsidies.
• Some of the major players operating in the market include CNH Industrial NV, Buhler Versatile Inc., Kubota Corporation, AGCO Corporation, Terberg Benschop B.V., Allis Chamler, Amogy Inc., Ballard Power Systems, Blue Fuel Systems, BMW, Cummins Inc., and Deere Company.