The Emerging Climate and Energy Crisis

 The world's supply of usable energy is becoming increasingly expensive. Our government has stated that we must become carbon neutral by 2050, but they haven't provided details on how or why we must achieve this goal. There are two key reasons why we should strive to reach this objective:

One reason is climate-related, and the other is energy supply-related. The climate issue is that as the world's temperature rises, the atmosphere will hold more water, leading to both drier and wetter conditions. Agriculture will be affected by drought in some areas and flooding in others.

The supply issue concerns the higher costs and increasing difficulty associated with petroleum production. The costs of finding, drilling, pumping, transporting, and processing petroleum into usable fuel are rising.

The impact of a carbon-neutral energy strategy on agriculture involves both climate and supply considerations. Future farming will require a low-cost, carbon-neutral energy source and compatible equipment.

There are over 4 million tractors in use in the United States, with about 2 million of them being over 25 years old. The first step is to economically retrofit older farm equipment with a more efficient electric drive system from engine to wheel

.

Autonomous Tractor Corporation has developed and tested an electric drive system for converting older farm tractors. This system has a lifespan of over 25,000 hours. The next step is to replace the diesel engine with a low-cost, direct ammonia electric fuel cell. The total cost of this conversion will be about one-third the cost of a new tractor, and the tractor can be serviced and repaired by the owner. This development effort has taken over 10 years to complete.