This doesn't cover all tractor uses of course, in the Texas Hill Country (think around Austin) there's a pretty large cohort of people (non farmers) that have enough land to necessitate a tractor or bob-cat that will only be used a few times a month.<p>Imagine being able to "jettison" your battery pack from your classic car EV conversion to plop into your tractor. I know the swappable battery packs failed to take up with the Tesla model, but think about the secondary machines that need occasional power - tractors, ride on lawn mowers, sentimental classic/ hobby vehicle. Things that could be used in series (you won't be moving your lawn and driving your classic car at the same time) that could also benefit as being a power wall.<p>High class problem for sure, there's a big opportunity to leverage micro-grids + flexible power.
I have a hard time seeing this get much traction. The use case for tractors is that you don’t need them all the time, but often when you do need them you need to use them almost continuously. Having to stop for a three-hour charge is almost a non-starter.<p>This is a bigger issue for larger tractors — when you are harvesting, you just can’t stop. You have to go nearly around the clock until you’re done. You don’t normally use a utility tractor with a front end loader attachment for that. But even for utility tractors, stopping in the middle of a job is an enormous downside. If you are baling hay or drilling fenceposts or loading hay bales, yuo are at the vagaries of the weather and the available daylight. Being able to quickly refuel is a big deal.
The Fully Charged show recently reviewed an electric tractor available in the UK:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClNdrJRan5k" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClNdrJRan5k</a>
I wonder if a hybrid drive system similar to the old chevy volts would ever make sense for a tractor. A lot of use cases for tractors (definitely not all, however) are very bursty in nature. I suspect for those use cases you could get away with an engine with a significantly lower peak output.
The front-loader is humorously under powered, it's too expensive, and too heavy. I want one anyway but I wouldn't buy it over a Kubota. How would it perform in 100 degree weather with the battery?
This is cool but I wish they also made a small walk-behind tractor for smaller gardens. I hope one day I will be able to buy something like a BCS but electric.