August 2022 | Vehicles | Volume 4
Introduction: Agriculture is under growing pressure to increase productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel dependence, soil degradation, and labor shortages. Electrification and autonomous machinery are emerging as important solutions to these challenges. This review examines recent developments in battery-electric, hybrid-electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell agricultural machinery, as well as autonomous robots, and explores how these technologies could integrate with renewable energy, energy storage, AI, and IoT to support more sustainable, energy-independent farming systems.
Key findings: Electrification and autonomous technologies could play an important role in reducing the environmental footprint of agricultural machinery. Electric and hybrid powertrains offer lower direct emissions, improved controllability, and reduced maintenance needs, with some hybrid multifunctional tractors achieving emission reductions of around 17%. However, high battery costs and long charging times remain major barriers, while hydrogen fuel cells offer faster refueling but still face cost and infrastructure limitations. Integrating solar, wind, biomass, and small-scale hydropower with battery or hydrogen storage could enable farm-scale microgrids that directly power electric tractors, autonomous robots, and other equipment. Combined with AI, IoT, autonomous navigation, and smart scheduling, these technologies could also improve the precision use of fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water while reducing soil compaction. The study therefore points toward an integrated farming system where renewable energy, electrified machinery, autonomous operation, and digital technologies work together to support low-carbon and increasingly energy-independent agriculture.
Content adapted from Amin Ghobadpour et al.
