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conference cpote2026 logo
CPOTE2026 | 9th International Conference on
Contemporary Problems of Thermal Engineering
23-25 September 2026 | Kraków, Poland | In-person

Abstract CPOTE2026-16073-A

Electrifying compact agricultural tractors: comparative assessment of battery electric, fuel cell hybrid electric, and diesel powertrains

Chiara PUTANO BISTI, Niccolo Cusano University, Italy
Barbara MENDECKA, Niccolo Cusano University, Italy

Decarbonizing compact tractors for vineyards and orchards is particularly challenging due to strict limits on vehicle size, low-profile architecture, and stability requirements. This work presents a preliminary comparison of two electrified powertrain solutions — a full battery-electric (BEV) architecture and a battery-electric/fuel cell hybrid (FCHEV) — against a conventional diesel baseline, for a compact ROPS tractor developed within an ongoing prototype project. The comparison is grounded in three experimentally-derived field duty cycles (shredding, treatments, soil tillage; 4 h each, 1.89–3.16 ha), capturing real-world speed, terrain grade, and PTO-load profiles to jointly reproduce traction and implement power demand. A forward quasi-static vehicle model translates these cycles into tank-to-field onboard energy requirements for each powertrain, alongside component packaging and mass distribution under the geometric constraints typical of specialty tractors. Results show the BEV configuration consistently minimizes onboard energy demand (25.4–41.7 kWh across cycles), with the fuel cell hybrid requiring roughly 1.7–1.8× more and the diesel baseline 3.2–3.9× more. Hydrogen consumption per cycle (1.31–2.24 kg) remains well within the 5 kg onboard tank capacity assessed for storage packaging. While the full BEV offers the simplest architecture, its autonomy is constrained by battery mass and volume; the BEV+FC hybrid extends operational range and improves mass balance at the cost of greater system complexity. By combining real duty-cycle data with packaging analysis, the study identifies concrete design trade-offs to support future development of electrified compact tractors.

Keywords: Hydrogen-powered tractors, Compact agricultural machinery, Real-world duty cycles, Powertrain electrification, Zero-emission agriculture