There were numerous battery-operated tractors at various levels of commercialization at Agritechnica, but almost all were under 100 HP equivalent range.
That’s because most of those tractors or power units work intermittently around a farm yard and don’t need full 12-hour power like tractors that work in the field at busy times of the year.
Think about telehandlers, skid steers, total mixed ration units and forklifts that do a quick job, multiple times per day, but can be plugged in when idle.
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Most of these units will have a maximum work period of about four hours.
The Fendt e100 Vario is a good example. The tractor is ready for market in Europe in 2024 and will be in North America in 2025. It has a run time of four to five hours with a 100 kw battery and is slated to do smaller jobs on farms, on golf courses and in municipalities that want low emissions.
It can be quick charged to 80 per cent of full in about 45 minutes, but a full charge takes five hours.
The company realizes that some farmers might need an eight-hour working time, so an added power source can be carried in the front – a 60-litre methanol tank, which powers a fuel cell that turns methanol into hydrogen, which can supply power to the battery for about another four hours of work. The methanol tank can then be refilled.
Other companies with electric options under 100 HP included:
- CNH with its new 75 HP electric utility tractors in both New Holland Case IH branding.
- Claas with an electric telehandler
- Kramer, which has a partnership with John Deere, with a telehandler
- Kubota with a small utility tractor
- Landini with a small hybrid electric tractor
- Tafe from India, with a 27 HP electric, and a 55 HP hydrogen tractor
- Faresin with an electric TMR mixer and telehandler.
