Evaluation of Potential Fuel Saving of Tractor Electrification Layouts Using Real-World Data

In 2020, the European Commission (EC) presented the European Green Deal which is an ambitious package of measures aiming to transform Europe into the first climate-neutral continent. Agricultural mechanisation is responsible for around 70 million tons of CO2 of yearly emissions. To significantly reduce CO2 emissions, hybrid powertrains are under investigation by industry and researchers. This paper aims to investigate a few hybrid powertrain architectures and to report the advantages of such solutions based on real-world data to obtain the potential benefits perceived by farmers. Real-world data were collected with a CANBUS data logger on a row-crop tractor rated at approximately 190 kW. In this tractor, engine and transmission operating parameters were recorded for approximately 2500 h of field use. Data were firstly classified into tasks, and then a series of metrics permitting to outline the usage of tractors were calculated. This permitted us to highlight the operational inefficiency of each type of task. Two different hybrid architectures were studied and evaluated with the load-point shifting principles. The studied architectures are engine start-stop and PTO-electrification. The most inefficient operations are idling and transportation since the engine operates at a low load which is an operation where the specific fuel consumption is below the optimum. The tractor was run on idle for 25% of the entire and cutting down idling with an idling stop system would permit to achieve a potential fuel saving of 1.7%. On the other hand, PTO-electrification would permit to achieve a potential fuel saving ranging from 2% for high demanding operations up to 16% for low demanding ones.