PHOTO: JOHN DEERE
PHOTO: LAURI JOKELA
At Agritechnica 2017 New Holland presented a 180hp methane tractor. In production in 2020.
lower power segments. They need less torque. In transport, for example, your bat- tery is already half-empty by the time you get up to speed, it’s useless. Getting something moving requires a great deal of energy. Once you’re up and running, the electric drive can take over.”
Agriculture poor business case Even so, the development of a fully electric drive is quite a way down the line, and that in- cludes heavy-duty equipment. Tesla, for exam- ple, has already produced a goods vehicle that is fully electric. It is also quick to charge: a thir- ty-minute charge will enable the vehicle to travel almost 650 kilometres. What is more, research by Auke Hoekstra, Senior Advisor Electric Mobility, in conjunction with Eindhoven University of Technology, has shown that batteries are becoming ever cheaper. Each time production doubles, the price drops by as much as 17 to 22%. Whereas a battery cost € 700/kWh in 2005, it will cost € 200/kWh by 2020, and € 100/kWh by 2030. Even the electric engines and electronics will be many times cheaper.
Electric power is also more maintenance- friendly than modern diesel technology, there are far fewer moving parts. An electric engine can generate more power per kilogram of its own weight, and the costs of producing the entire electric drive will fall. According to Mr Hoekstra, the electric engine generating 4.3 kW/kg is, on average, three times more powerful per kilogram of its own weight than an engine powered with fossil fuel, and whats
more it is 40 times smaller per kW. Mr Hoekstra is a keen advocate of electric power for cars, buses and goods vehicles. “The best thing is when you have the opportunity to charge part-way through a journey. But if you want to drive your car to Spain non-stop, the battery will be too large and too expensive.” There is the parallel with agriculture: a tractor that is meant to run all day at full power re- quires an excessively large battery pack and is
In order to get around the issue of an enor- mous and costly battery pack, John Deere also experimented with a tractor on an ex- tension cable, which is continuously wound in and out on a reel.
The basis of the Dual Fuel is a Valtra N101, which runs on both diesel and biogas. A mix of 15% diesel and 85% biogas provides maxi- mum power. Valtra already had gained expe- rience with wood gas-fired tractors in 1970.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 1 November 2018 47
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