Plowing new ground
John Deere introduced the world’s first, fully battery-powered tractor in 2017. Nicknamed SESAM, for Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery, this all-electric prototype is built on a standard John Deere 6R chassis.
Photo Credit: John Deere
In rural America, green and yellow are arguably the second-most American set of colors, right behind red, white and blue, so when John Deere unveiled the world’s first fully battery-powered tractor in 2017, it got people’s attention.
Nicknamed SESAM, for Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery, this all-electric prototype is built on John Deere’s 6R chassis, and according to the company, it has “all the features and functionality of a ‘conventional’ tractor while offering the benefits of electric power.”
Pop the hood and you’ll find the traditional internal combustion engine has been replaced by a massive battery pack. This emissions-free machine produces less noise than traditional tractors and operates using two independent electric motors with a combined peak output of 400 horsepower, according to Farm-Equipment.com. The website claims the tractor takes three hours to fully charge and can run up to four hours in the field at speeds ranging from 2 to 30 mph.
Although SESAM’s battery capacity can’t yet handle a full day of sunrise-to-sunset farming, the arrival of an all-electric tractor is the first step toward electrifying a wide range of agricultural machinery. As energy storage technology improves, experts predict it’s only a matter of time before John Deere manufactures tractors that will stay powered up for a long day’s work.
The push toward electric farm machinery is part of the growing “environmentally beneficial electrification” movement, which seeks new ways to use electricity in daily activities as an alternative to fossil fuels. Frequently promoted as a means to reduce greenhouse gases, beneficial electrification also helps consumers by providing products that are cleaner, quieter and easier to maintain.