Abdul Lateef Dar

ELECTRIC TRACTOR

Abdul Lateef Dar

MTech, PED Department,

SELECT, Vellore Institute Of Technology Vellore, Tamilnadu.

ABSTRACT— A farmer always tries to make farming easy and accomplish it in a way so that less amount of money or labour is needed. The main cost due to which Farming becomes expensive is the use of Tractors. Tractors consume a lot amount of fuel which adds to the cost. But tecnology has came to rescue and provided a solution. The use of DC Batteries in place of Fuel proposed by Electrical Engineering world has given Farmers a less expensive and reliable machine known as Electric Tractor. Due to Electric Tractor, Farming becomes easy and economical.

INTRODUCTION

With the deterioration of environments and increase of energy depletion, developing agriculture with environmental friendliness, resource conservation and high efficiency is prospective and necessary. Some special agricultural environments such as greenhouse and courtyard agriculture, have more and more urgent needs for agricultural machineries with zero emission, no pollution and low noise. By using a tractor, tasks like ploughing, tilling and planting etc. have been carried out every day. These tractors cause a lot of pollution due to emissions from diesel engines, which may directly affect the crop. Tractors use petroleum based fuels mainly diesel. Hence these tractor engines emit exhaust that contains a combination of nitrogen oxide indicated by NOx, unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO). It is a well-known fact that NOx is a major contributor to the formation of acid rains. High concentration of NO2 to the atmosphere may cause respiratory illnesses like bronchitis, asthma and other breathing problems. CO having greater affinity for Hb than Oxygen reacts with hemoglobin that reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.
Compared with traditional tractors, pure electric tractors have compact structure, large power density, strong overload capacity, and high work efficiency. Electrification in auto industry has been a global trend for more than 5 years now and it was just a matter of time when it would trickle down to off highway vehicles. Equipment manufacturers across the globe are experimenting with various electrical equipment to improve tractors and implements.
The agriculture industry believes there are a few barriers that are preventing electrification of agriculture tractors. The biggest problem lies in the specific energy of Li ion batteries and the pulling power from electric motor as compared to Diesel as a fuel. India being the biggest farm tractor market accounting for almost 35-38% of global production is also making progress on electric front. In 2017, Escorts Ltd

launched India`s first electric tractor concept. The product was aimed to cater to 22 HP to 90 HP range and compliant with tier 4 emission norms of Europe and America. US based Solectrac has manufactured 10-12 units of eUtility models based on two-wheel drive Farmtrac diesel tractor hardware from Escorts. It already has the Solectrac e70N in development which is a larger 70hp-equivalent model with four-wheel drive.

India's first farm ready electric tractor was launched in 23 December 2020 (on Farmer's day). Sonalika took a major step towards reforming the agro vehicle segment of India. Sonalika on Wednesday 23 december 2020 launched India’s first electric tractor, Tiger Electric, and this offering can change the face of farming in India. Marking a new era of Agri innovation, Sonalika, India’s fastest growing tractor brand and the leading export brand across Europe, Americas, Africa and over 130 countries, has launched India’s first field-ready electric tractor called as the Tiger Electric.
As per Sonalika, the Tiger Electric tractor has been designed in Europe and developed in-house with proven aggregates to deliver seamless power as well as emission- free, noiseless farming in India and across the globe.