It feels natural for passenger cars to be the first vehicles to make the transition to electric power, but once that's done, others will follow. Actually, make that "all" will follow.
Except we don't have to wait until electric cars become the norm. Well, at least that's what John Deere, the world-famous American agricultural machinery manufacturer seems to think.
We keep talking about ecological agriculture for the past years, and even though that refers to the crops, you can't help but feel it's a bit ironic considering the machines that work the land keep using the same diesel engines. Well, sure, just like in passenger cars, they've had tons of improvements made over the years - and they even mandate the use of AdBlue in Europe - but at the end of the day, they are still a source of pollution.
This 404 horsepower tractor from John Deere might be the first to show us the future. The prototype is called SESAM (Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery) and where the large diesel engine would have normally resided, it carries a large battery pack.
The overall capacity is rated at 130 kWh, but since we're dealing with a heavy piece of equipment, we really don't know whether that is adequate, a lot or simply not enough. Further more, John Deere did not release any info on how many work hours this energy reserve is good for.
The short video released just ahead of the SIMA show in France (not to be confused with SEMA, obviously, or you'll be greatly disappointed) shows the John Deere SESAM operate in almost complete silence, which even though it's something we've become accustomed to in cars, here feels completely eerie.
The advantages of electric power in agricultural machinery are pretty obvious. For one thing, maintenance is a lot simpler, and there are fewer components that can break down. For most farmers, this last argument alone might prove sufficient. The cost of fuel is also worth considering, as is the fact that electric motors are famous for the torque they provide, and that's what matters most in tractors.
As the name suggests, SESAM is more than just a tractor: it's John Deere's vision of "the farm of the future."
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