CASE PROJECT TETRA
ABOVE: Michelin provided
concept airless tires for
Project Tetra
Strikingly futuristic in both its
design contours and the vision
of sustainability it encapsulates,
Project Tetra is Case Construction
Equipment’s new methane-powered
wheel loader concept, unveiled with
thunderous fanfare at Bauma 2019.
It is intended to form part of what
Case calls a ‘virtuous circle’ of CO2-
neutral energy, wherein wheel
loaders on farms or waste facilities
will feed organic waste into
biodigesters producing the
biomethane which powers them.
Matching the 230hp power output
of an equivalent diesel machine,
Tetra delivers reductions of 50% in
drive-by noise and 80% in overall
emissions, while promising to reduce
running costs by up to 30%. The
Case machine draws on expertise
from across CNH Industrial, already
a market leader in natural gaspowered
18 iVTInternational.com June 2019
vehicles through its Iveco
on-highway truck brand.
CNH powertrain division FTP
Industrial provides Tetra’s sixcylinder
engine, which maintains
optimum performance through
stoichiometric technology. Fuel
tanks at the vehicle’s sides and rear
purport to enable a full day of
energy-autonomous operation.
Methane’s tetrahedral molecular
structure is referenced in Tetra’s
styling as well as its project code
name. Case hopes the concept will
demonstrate the feasibility of
generating gas from waste to power
real-world construction equipment,
but the vehicle can also run off
traditional CNG extracted from
beneath the earth’s surface, which is
still less polluting than diesel.
“As a concept, I think this is the
most extreme we’ve done,” says
CNH Industrial’s design director,
David Wilkie. “We wanted to make
an impact, but it also had to be real
and workable. We took it to the top
of a mountain in Italy and treated it
just like a production model – and
yes, it really works. Concepts are
really helpful, both internally and
externally, creating energy and
80%
The potential reduction
in overall emissions
promised by Project
Tetra
iVT
CONCEPT
/iVTInternational.com