A Dutch company that makes fully electric autonomous tractors is setting its sights on the Australian market, with plans to offer its emissions-free farm machinery Down Under as early as the middle of 2026.
EOX Tractors director and owner Hilbrand Kuiken told The Land this week that he will come to Australia later this month, to pitch the technology to local farmers ahead of a pilot project next year.
The company’s commercial director, Carl Schwarz, will attend the 2025 National Renewables in Agriculture Conference, which is this year being held in the central Victorian city of Bendigo, as part of a new session announced just last week.
Conference founder and organiser Karin Stark says Kuiken, who believes all tractors will be emissions free 20 years from now, is also keen to hear from farmers attending the conference about what’s needed to make electric tractors work Australian farms.
EOX Tractors, which is headquartered in the Dutch eastern City of Arnhem, has reinvigorated the tractor design by optimising each component with electrification in mind.
The EOX 175-200 horsepower tractors include four 30kW hub driven motors, one hydraulic motor and two power-take-off motors which are all powered by a central 150kWh battery. Its modular design also allows for the attachment of an additional battery pack for extended range.
Unlike conventional tractors, independent steering allows the tractor to crab steer and also turn upon its own axis, which both lend themselves to a high degree of manoeuvrability.
The all-electric tractors also have the ability to extend both front and rear axles, which can increase from 2.25m in length to 3.2m, allowing for improved weight distribution and greater ease of transport.
Alongside the battery-powered version, the company also produces tractors powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
Formed out of bankruptcy
EOX was originally established in 2018 as H2Trac by seven farmers who wanted to make cropping more sustainable and efficient through Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) – in which tractors follow fixed tracks, leading to less crop damage and increased yields.
H2Trac went bankrupt in 2021, however, and the company was rebooted by two investors – including Kuiken – who repositioned it with a renewed focus on emissions reduction.
Kuiken is a partner of another Dutch company called Quantillion Technologies that focuses on optimising autonomous machinery.
Electric utes, too
The National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo is being held on July 23 in Bendigo, Victoria.
Sessions will feature a range of topics from electric utes, green hydrogen, battery storage, bioenergy, solar pumping, future grid and sharing the benefits when hosting large scale solar and wind farms.
A BYD Shark 6 electric ute will be on display at the conference. To register, click here.