John Deere really goes green with ev tractor concept

The John Deere Sesam concept is not just green because of the brand's famous paint job but also with the mindset behind creating this purely electric tractor. The company is one of the most venerable names in farm equipment, and the business looks at the future of growing food with this rig.

Based on John Deere's existing 6R tractor, the Sesam, which stands for Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery, packs a total of 174 horsepower (130 kilowatts) from two electric motors. Depending on power needs, they can dedicate drive to the vehicle, to the power take off shaft, or split the output with each one taking on a separate duty. A massive bank of lithium-ion batteries also replaces the usual diesel engine.

According to John Deere, the Sesam, has all the capabilities of a traditional tractor but with no local emissions. With ample torque that's available immediately, electric motors are well suited for heavy hauling. The the only sound the vehicle makes is the whine of the electric motors, and even those go silent whenever a farmer stops the tractor. In addition, this rig could conceivably allow someone to grow crops with energy independence assuming a farmer had enough windmills and solar cells on site.

Unfortunately, the Sesam concept isn't ready to tackle a full day of hard work on the farm quite yet. According to John Deere, the batteries' charge only lasts around four hours under normal use. Even worse, the pack takes three hours to charge, so the rig is out of commission for a while when it runs out of juice.

The video above makes the Sesam look like a very successful proof of concept. As batteries and charging tech improve in the future, this concept could be a viable option for farmers in just a few years.