AGCO Power, Valtra show CO2 calculator concept

AGCO Power, in cooperation with Valtra, is introducing a CO₂ calculator concept at Agritechnica, taking place Nov. 9-15 in Hanover, Germany. The calculator is designed to offer the agricultural and forestry sectors a way to automatically and verifiably calculate and report carbon footprints, even down to individual product batches.

In addition to the CO2 calculator concept, Valtra will showcase its S Series concept tractor, which enables the operator to access data via an online portal and download reports and verified certificates of emission reductions. (Photo: AGCO)

The AGCO Power CO₂ Calculator Concept is an intelligent system that identifies the type of fuel used in agricultural machinery and automatically calculates, verifies and visualizes the carbon footprint of the work performed, the company explained. It noted that replacing fossil diesel with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) can cut CO₂ emissions from tractor operation by up to 90%.

“Reliable information on operational carbon footprints provides farmers with a significant competitive advantage. It enables better decision-making and offers tools to monitor, visualize and verify environmental impact,” said Jarno Ratia, director, Product Management at AGCO Power.

The solution combines information from the machine’s fuel and cloud-based emissions calculation software, detecting the fuel type, such as fossil diesel, HVO or first-generation FAME biodiesel, and transferring real-time data to the cloud, where CO₂ emissions are calculated.

When combined with location/geographical information and machine- or fleet-level data, the calculator provides a clear yet detailed view of a farm’s carbon footprint, from an overall summary down to an individual machine, field or crop. These verified figures can be shared with customers and other partners across the food production value chain.

As a concept, the CO₂ calculator’s future will depend more on market adoption than on regulation, said Jouko Järvinen, R&D specialist, Research & Advanced Engineering, Power and Energy at AGCO Power.

The concept allows batch-specific emissions analysis based on fuel data and location information. While standards for automatic, vehicle-based emissions data collection are not yet in place, the concept has been designed with data security at its core.

“Farm databases already collect detailed information on the emission impact of fertilizers, so machinery-related emissions may well become the next key factor in efforts to reduce agricultural emissions,” Järvinen added.