A Canterbury farmer has converted a diesel tractor to electric in the hope of cleaning up carbon emissions.
Duncan Aitken has spent several years and almost $10,000 on the tractor, which can run continuously for up to eight hours.
He now wants to sell other tractors on the commercial market so created Loxley Innovations.
“It’s a low volt system, 48 volts, and it’s running a brush motor so it’s fairly tried and tested hardware,” Aitken said.
It charges in his Tai Tapu shed, and when not in use can fuel the house or the electricity grid.
“It’s supplementing the solar if there’s not enough available, and if the conditions are favourable it’s exporting up to a maximum of five kilowatts.
“There is a decent market segment for what we're targeting - seasonal, 60HP range, running five-eight hours continuous,” Aitken said.
Engineers are being sought, along with investment from those with an eye on a green future.
“Electric on-farm mechanisation makes even more sense in this context, as you're generating your fuel requirements on-site, increasing a farm's resilience,” Aitken said.
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