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The traffic light coalition wants to abolish the tax advantages for agricultural diesel. Most tractors and combine harvesters run on diesel, and alternative drives are still rare. However, that could soon change.
Bastian van der Veen is a farmer in the Netherlands. He has his farm in the Dutch town of Coevorden, on the border with Germany. Not far from Meppen, he drives around his farm with a tractor that is somewhat reminiscent of a lunar vehicle. It is an electric tractor, it consists of only the bare essentials: four wheels, a plow in the middle and a roof made of solar panels. That’s why the vehicle is quite light.
Farmer van der Veen has been using the electric tractor in his fields for over a year. “On a sunny day I can drive it for six to eight hours at a speed of eight kilometers per hour,” he says. This is roughly how fast a diesel tractor travels when plowing light soil.
Electric tractor with hydrogen support
If there is not enough sun, the vehicle gets power from a battery. “Starting this spring, the electric tractor will be retrofitted,” says designer Eelco Osse from the Boessenkool company. Hydrogen fuel cells will then be installed, which generate electricity and charge the battery when necessary. The electric tractor is a project by the Steinfurt University of Applied Sciences in Münsterland, together with German and Dutch companies.
For the designer Eelco Osse, the advantages are obvious: the electric tractor is climate-friendly and does not require any fossil energy. The “Information.Medien.Agrar” association estimates that between 110 and 120 liters of diesel per hectare are used in agriculture. In Germany, this adds up to consumption of around two billion liters of diesel per year in agriculture and forestry.
Electric agricultural machinery is still in its infancy
Large tractors with electric drives are currently missing. In the past, they often failed due to the enormous amount of energy required to use heavy agricultural machinery. There is still far too little talk about climate-friendly agricultural vehicles, says designer Eelco Osse. That’s why the development of alternative drives is still in its infancy here.
At the “Agritechnica” trade fair at the end of November 2023, researchers from the Technical University of Munich showed a development kit for electric tractors – but especially for smaller and medium-sized tractors. The research group sees the possibility of electrification especially in tractors that have to work many hours but must deliver constant performance. These electric tractors run on a kind of “power bank” as a replaceable battery.
Significantly higher Purchase price
Some agricultural machinery manufacturers have already discovered the electric tractor: The company Fendt from the Allgäu region presented an electric tractor in 2017 and tested it in selected companies and municipalities. The electric tractor is scheduled to go into series production from the end of this year.
The small vehicle can be used in fruit, vegetable and wine cultivation as well as in greenhouses. This electric tractor is expected to be significantly more expensive than a comparable diesel tractor, according to a spokeswoman for the company. This is mainly related to the battery of the electric tractor. In contrast, maintenance work on an e-tractor is cheaper in the long term because there are fewer individual parts.
The US manufacturer John Deere has also announced that it wants to bring a battery-powered tractor onto the market from 2026. This electric tractor should have around 100 hp and also be able to drive autonomously.
Biogas tractor runs on horse manure
In addition to electricity from solar energy, there are other alternative fuels for agricultural machinery. Daniel Königs is a farmer in Neuss on the Lower Rhine. In 2021 he took over the business in the third generation. He grows grain, sugar beets and vegetables on around 110 hectares. The young man’s tractor, a tractor from the US manufacturer New Holland, runs on biomethane. “More than half of it comes from horse manure,” says Königs.
The engine of his tractor has an output of 175 hp and can run for one and a half to two hours on the small tank. With a tank extension, the tractor can do four to six hours of medium to heavy work in the field, such as plowing, says Königs.
Farmer Daniel Königs’ biogas tractor at his gas station.
The farmer produces the alternative fuel in his own biogas plant. The farmer benefits from the fact that there are many horse farms in his region. And: He has his own biomethane filling station on his doorstep and has thus created an important infrastructure.
“There are still larger price differences between tractors with different fuels,” says Königs. A diesel tractor of this size costs around 200,000 euros, for a methane gas tractor you add around 30,000 to 40,000 euros on top. But the biogas drive is sustainable and environmentally friendly. And both, says the young farmer, are important to him.