Sepp Knüsel, the brains behind the Swiss-made Rigitrac tractors, will show a 100% electrically-powered prototype at the Agrama farm and forestry event in Bern, which starts on Thursday.
Developed jointly with the Swiss University of Applied Sciences in Buchs, the technical details of the SKE 50 Electric remain under wraps, but we can confirm that the diesel engine has been replaced by an 80kW battery, which depending on the application, provides enough power for 3-6 hours of operation.
This is not the first time the Swiss company has had a stab at making an electric tractor, and at the 2011 Agritechnica won an innovation award silver medal for the diesel-electric EWD 120.
The result of a project with TU Dresden (Technical University), each wheel of the prototype was fitted with a 33kW electric motor. Electricity was supplied by an 85kW generator connected directly to the 91kW diesel engine.
