Farmers do not buy an electric tractor: expensive, quickly empty and difficult

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Eight tons, that’s how much an electric tractor costs. That is much more than the more than two tons that a tractor that runs on diesel costs.

Only ten of them have been sold in the Netherlands. says Mart van der Valk. He is a technical specialist in emission-free drives at the Abemec company, which converts diesel tractors from the Fendt brand to electric.

The buyers of those electric tractors are all companies in the construction industry.

Issues

A few farmers have tested electric tractors, but that’s it so far. Because they encounter quite a few problems.

The major problem is that electric tractors are not yet suitable for heavy work, such as plowing and harvesting potatoes, according to a recent report from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. That takes more energy than, for example, sowing.

Battery drains quickly

Electric tractors can provide the power needed to break up the ground, but not all day long. The batteries often only last four hours, says Jos Derks, from Derks Gewasbescherming. That is inconvenient when you are working in the field.

The electric tractors are supplied with two batteries, so that you can regularly replace the battery. But where do you charge the empty battery? There are no charging stations in the fields.

Fast charging at Fastned

Last autumn, a test was carried out at an arable farm in Zeeland with electric tractors from Agromec, says Van der Valk.

According to him, changing the battery was possible during the test if the tractor occasionally drove back to the farm while harvesting potatoes. And there was also a person who regularly drove to Fastned to connect the batteries to the fast charger there.

‘More expensive and complicated’

“Driving to Fastned does make it more expensive and complicated,” says Van der Valk. But if you have more tractors working, it becomes more profitable, he says. In construction, it is often required that there be zero-emission vehicles. “Then there is a driver who drives around all day with empty batteries,” says Van der Valk.

It is possible to make the battery pack so strong that you can work with it all day, according to the report from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. But then it would weigh 15,000 kilos, which is too heavy, because it compresses the agricultural land too much.

‘Not competitive with diesel for years to come’

The cost of operating electric tractors is also a concern. A few years ago, the costs of electric charging were the same as those of diesel, but due to the increased electricity price, charging is now more expensive, according to Van der Valk.

Things are different if you have solar panels, as many farmers already do, he says. Then electric charging is cheaper than refueling with diesel. But you will never earn back the significantly higher purchase costs, says Van der Valk. “I don’t expect electric tractors to become competitive with diesel in the next ten years.”

‘No incentive from the government’

Farmers are interested in purchasing an electric tractor. Derks is already committed to sustainability and has been considering purchasing one for a long time.

The Climate Agreement contains many agreements about making vehicles more sustainable. But unlike in construction, there are no sustainability requirements for farmers yet. It is also unclear which ministry is responsible for the rules for this, LNV for agricultural matters or that of Infrastructure and Water Management, according to the report by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.

The prices for agricultural products from farmers with an electric tractor will therefore have to rise, Derks concludes.