John Deere to introduce its first all-electric tractor

US-based agricultural machinery manufacturer, John Deere, is set to introduce its first fully viable electric tractor, using heavy duty batteries technology created for commercial vehicles.

The John Deere SESAM (Sustainable Energy for Agricultural Machinery) will be revealed at the SIMA agriculture show in Paris, France, next month. It features a huge 130kWh electric battery mounted under the tractor’s long bonnet, and a digital dashboard display to show remaining range, battery condition and power output.

The zero-emissions SESAM tractor, which is based on the American company’s 6R model, develops 402bhp, supplied to each rear wheel independently via a pair of 150kW electric motors. A full charge of the battery allows about four hours work, or an 88km road range. The batteries can withstand at least 3,100 charging cycles, which will take almost three hours each, meaning a service life of almost 10 years.

Regenerative braking, which will work automatically on downhill slopes, feeds power back into the SESAM tractor’s battery to give it additional range.

The company says the SESAM tractor is “a major part of John Deere’s vision of the future farm, self-sufficient in energy.” It suggests that farms that generate their own electricity, through wind farming, can cease to be reliant on conventional fuels.

However, the limited range of the SESAM tractor means that it won’t yet be suitable for heavy duty farming, where currently some tractors work up to 18 hours a day. John Deere has developed an electric hybrid tractor to service more demanding farming applications, which also uses technology developed in the automotive industry.