Japanese company Kubota, a specialist in electrical motors, has unveiled a new autonomous tractor at Expo 2025 Kansai, being held in Osaka until 13 October. Autonomous tractors aren’t new, with John Deere and CNH Industrial fielding their own models, but this one is unique in that it’s powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
The company has previously shown off a manned version of its hydrogen fuel cell tractor, but this new version doesn’t need a driver. Kubota also reckons it’s better suited for farm work than its standard electrical counterparts, for a few reasons.
Kubota puts in the work
Perhaps the most obvious one is that the vehicle — it’s just called the Autonomous Fuel Cell Tractor — combines oxygen with its hydrogen cells to run its engines. There are no emissions, and the sole byproduct is water. That sounds like a handy thing to have traipsing around a field.
There are other, more tangible benefits, too. The company reckons its unmanned tractor will run for up to half a day on a charge, though the length of this day isn’t specified. The hydrogen cells power a 100HP motor that suits it for heavier tasks, and its autonomy may be taken over by a remote human pilot as long as it’s within range of a connected network.
Should farmers let it do its own thing, Kubota says that the equipment’s onboard cameras can handle unexpected obstacles and surprise farmworkers without needing intervention. It should avoid crushing crops and their caretakers, in other words.
As yet, though, the vehicle isn’t on the market. One of the company’s developers, Isamu Kazama, is quoted as saying, “We will soon conduct a demonstration experiment and continue development towards practical application.”
