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CSIR-CMERI Developed Compact Electric Tractor CSIR PRIMA ET11
In India, agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for nearly 55% of the Indian population, feeding 1.3 billion people and contributing significantly to the country’s GDP. Tractors play a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity by mechanization. Indian tractor industry has come a long way in terms of production capacity and technology in the last few decades.
CSIR CMERI has a long history in the Design and development of tractors of various ranges and capacities. Its journey starts with the very first indigenously developed SWARAJ Tractor in 1965, followed by a 35hp Sonalika tractor in 2000, and then a Small diesel tractor of 12hp Krishishakti in 2009 for small and marginal farmers’ demand. To take the legacy to the next level CMERI started working with the advanced technology in the tractor, and as a result, this e-tractor has been developed.
Traditionally tractors use diesel, thus contributing significantly to the environmental pollution. According to an estimate they consume about 7.4% of our country’s annual diesel usage and account for 60% of total agricultural fuel usage. Also, their PM2.5 and NOx emissions are likely to increase 4-5 times the current level in the next two decades.
Global carbon foot print reduction strategy necessitates rapid transition of this sector towards electrification. At the COP26 summit held in Glasgow in the year 2021, India announced it to work towards reducing the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by the year 2030. Also, the target was to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by the year 2070. Therefore, the electrification of tractors is a necessary step that aids our country in achieving these targets.
Considering the need to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the eventual scarce availability of fossil fuels, electric tractors have been identified as a possible solution in the context of more sustainable farming. However, most of the commercial equipment consists of high-power machines, which are only feasible for large-area Farming and pose a challenge for Indian marginal farmers who have around 2 hectares of farming land or less, and these small & marginal farmers consist of more than 80% of the farmer community.
Addressing this, CSIR-CMERI has indigenously designed and developed a compact 100% Pure Electric Tractor named CSIR PRIMA ET11 mainly to cater to small and marginal farmers of India.
Salient features of the developed CSIR PRIMA ET11 are as follows:
1) The first very important point is that the entire tractor has been designed and manufactured with indigenous components and technologies.
2) Since the main purpose of the tractor is to cater to the demand of agriculture field applications, it has been designed in such a way that its dynamics, weight distribution, transmission engagements, lever and pedal position everything has been well designed and considered.
3) Another USP of the developed technology is that it Women women-friendly. For this we have given special attention to the ergonomics, for eg: All the lever, switches, etc has been placed for an easy approach to the women. Further to minimize the effort many mechanical systems are being replaced with electronic switches for easy operations.
4) The farmers can charge the tractor using a conventional home charging socket in 7 to 8 hours and operate the tractor for more than 4 hours in the field. Otherwise, the tractor can run more than 6 hours in case of normal Haulage operation. We have seen that the usual practice of farmers in India is that they start their work in the morning and at noon they usually take the rest and during this time they can charge their tractor so that they can again use it for their work in the afternoon.
5) Coming to Transmission: The tractor is being designed with a robust and efficient transmission system by using the semi-synchronized type gearing system. The design helps to achieve the desired efficiency at min cost.
6) The tractor is equipped with best-in-class hydraulic with a lifting capacity of 500 kg or more. It implies that the tractor can lift implements required not only for field operation but also for hauling operation. It is also to be mentioned that the tractor can tow a 1.8-ton capacity trolley with a max speed of 25 kmph.
7) It’s robustly designed along with necessary covers and guards to protect it from mud and water.
8) Coming to electric aspects the battery we have chosen is a state of art Lithium-ion battery with Prismatic cell confirmation. It has deep discharge capability for farming applications and has a life of more than 3000 cycles.
9) The controller and the instrument cluster have been modified to suit the agricultural needs.
10) Another distinct feature, we have provided is that there is a port called V2L i.e. vehicle to load, This means when the tractor is not in operation, its battery power can be utilized for other secondary applications like pump and irrigation, etc.
I am very happy to share/inform you that this first-of-this-kind electric tractor has been launched by Honorable Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh ji in our One Week One lab curtain raiser ceremony held at New Delhi on 21- Aug-2023 in the presence of, DG CSIR Dr. N Kalaiselvi and many dignitaries.
Also, this impactful technology has been licensed to K N bioscience, a Hyderabad Company famous for its Kushal Tractor brand and many bioscience-related developments/products to take it to the ground level and mass production; we are hoping for its grand success.
It is expected that this tractor CSIR PRIMA ET11 will create a breakthrough in sustainable agriculture while meeting the demands of small and marginal farmers in India. And thereby this development will trigger to lead India in the global tractor industry with a revolutionary vision of “Make for the World.”
