7 Elements

Solar Electric Tractor

Problem: weeds

Existing solutions: 

  • Hand weeding

  • Mechanical soil tillage

  • Chemical spraying

Tasty tasty weeds (Lambsquarters)

  • 10 years of no chemicals (grass)
  • Tilled for planting soybeans
  • Great for growing giant ragweed
  • Ragweed & soybeans, after cultivator
  • Still lots of hand weeding to do
  • $30-$70 per acre for chemicals
  • hand weeding even at $5/hr doesn't scale

Great picture,

bad for harvest

Solution: The Solar Electric Tractor

A tractor that refuels itself, built by a farmer, for other farmers

Solar Tractor version 1 shown here

Solution

  • Solar electric tractor
  • High-power LED lights
  • Open-source hardware

Ownership for the next generation

  • Knowledge transfer
  • Historical context
  • New ideas
  • Product with 40-75 year design lifespan

Ownership for the next generation

  • Knowledge transfer
  • Historical context
  • New ideas
  • Product with 40-75 year design lifespan

Version 2 shown here

The Farmhand Tractor frame, serial number 1, pre-shipment.
This is the base for the third major design iteration of the Solar Tractor

Opportunity

  • 160 Million acres of corn and soybeans in US
  • Weed management as a service for 1% of acres
    • $48 Million to $112 Million revenue per year
  • Global corn and soy acres are 4-5 times larger

Solar Tractor Version 3 shown here

Opportunity

  • 160 Million acres of corn and soybeans in US
  • Weed management as a service for 1% of acres
    • $48 Million to $112 Million revenue per year
  • Farm equipment is $100/acre annually, ~$500/acre total investment
    • $25/acre for 1/4 of the US acreage invested in farm robots is $1B annual

Solar Tractor version 2 with LED weeder shown here

Opportunity

  • 160 Million acres of corn and soybeans in US
  • Weed management as a service for 1% of acres
    • $48 Million to $112 Million revenue per year
  • Farm equipment is $100/acre annually, ~$500/acre total investment
    • $25/acre for 1/4 of the US acreage invested in farm robots is $1B annual
  • 1 robot can serve 1-5 acres
    • Processor/board/control system volume is ~25 million units per year to supply US

Opportunity: $100M to $1B