AGCO Power opens clean energy lab

AGCO, which designs, manufactures and distributes agricultural machinery and precision ag technology globally, along with its subsidiary AGCO Power, announced the opening of the company’s first clean energy laboratory. Part of a roughly $77 million investment in the Linnavuori plant in Nokia, Finland, the lab will support development and testing of battery and powertrain solutions for farm machinery.

The clean energy laboratory will support development and testing of battery and powertrain solutions for farm machinery. (Photo: AGCO)

The Linnavuori team of scientists and engineers are developing next-generation engines powered by low- or zero-carbon electricity and alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and methanol, that will help minimize global agricultural emissions, AGCO said. It noted that the capacity of existing battery technologies restricts the size of fully electric farm machinery, but the AGCO Power lab is working to change that paradigm.

“We are investing heavily in the research and development of multiple lower carbon technologies, such as the electrification of off-road machines and hybrids,” said Kelvin Bennett, AGCO’s senior vice president of engineering. “It is exciting to know those investments will start showing tangible results this summer when the first fully electric tractor, the Fendt e100 V Vario, enters production in 2024.”

In addition to the clean energy laboratory, the investment in the Linnavuori plant has included new production facilities for both cylinder heads and continuously variable transmission components, expansions to the paint shop and testing facilities for remanufactured engines and a training and visitor center. In total, the new buildings cover 11,000 sq. m. (approximately 118,400 sq. ft.), with some phases of the project opening this year and others set to be operational in 2025.