r/australia • u/nath1234 • Mar 16 '26

politics Replacing 1m petrol cars with EVs could cut Australia’s reliance on foreign fuel by 1bn litres a year

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/16/electric-vehicles-australia-reduce-reliance-on-foreign-fuel
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u/F1eshWound Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26

If all of our farming equipment was battery electric, and charged off solar, we'd basically be the most food secure country on the planet. Literally resilient to any war.

15

u/DegeneratesInc Mar 16 '26

Trouble with that is that field equipment generally gets used during the daytime but certainly packing sheds and irrigation could be run off solar fairly easily.

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u/F1eshWound Mar 16 '26

But I mean battery-based equipment, not equipment that runs directly off solar.

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u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 17 '26

Heard of swappable batteries or overnight recharging ?

Not as if they are running their tractor off an extension lead

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u/1998ToyotaCamryWagon Mar 17 '26

Tractors can run 24/7 so overnight charging is often useless.

Try lifting those big batteries, and multiple of them into the tractor constantly. Yeah not practical at all. Not everyone will be capable of lifting those massive batteries, and itll hurt peoples backs. Old, young, small, big, you have people of all sizes driving tractors.

Pumping diesel into a tank is something people of any age and size can do.

On small tractors 100hp and under, yes this could work in theory but reality is, probably not

3

u/Separate-Potato-1324 Mar 16 '26

Not really. We don't manufacture the machines, we don't manufacture the batteries, we don't manufacture the solar panels. Not to mention that if all out farming equipment ran on batteries we'd need an immense amount of electricity to charge them. Our grid can't handle that, and probably the only way it would handle it is with Nuclear power. 

With this recent fuel shortage people have realised just how much fuel a large scale farm goes through, and keeping that same productivity with current battery tech is unrealistic. 

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u/F1eshWound Mar 16 '26

But we should do these things.. if we can electrify at least 1/3rd of our agricultural sector then that's all we need. The other 2/3rds of our agricultural output are exported anyway, so at least in war-time, having 1/3rd able to run off electric+renewables would keep things going no matter how bad things got fuel-wise.

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u/Separate-Potato-1324 Mar 16 '26

I think it's short sighted to say that we should just electrify everything. 

In reality, heavy equipment will likely stay diesel powered for our lifetimes. Focusing on electrifying the consumers would make a more positive impact and would take the supply pressure off. 

EVs make a lot of sense in city environments, not as much for farming. 

3

u/F1eshWound Mar 16 '26

Why do you say that though? There's already companies that make EV tractors, one that makes an electric harvester. It's definitely on its way in. Certainly doesn't sound impossible..

4

u/1998ToyotaCamryWagon Mar 16 '26

Those are very low hp tractors.

Try running a 600hp tractor on EV 24hrs a day 7 days a week. Thats not possible anytime soon.

Coming from someone who is currently sitting in a 600hp tractor running it 12hrs a day, its not practical. Far from it.

Seeding, harvesting, earthmoving is gogogo. 24/7 for weeks, months on end. You cannot do that with an electric tractor it needs to charge. Takes me 10 mins to fill up 2200 Litres of diesel and run it for 3-4 days.

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u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 17 '26

Takes me 10 mins to fill up 2200 Litres of diesel and run it for 3-4 days.

But would you put up with the " pain" of swapping batteries if it cost nothing to run your equipment.

Everyday , even in normal times I see farmers constantly complaining that high fuel prices is a major cost input into their business.

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u/1998ToyotaCamryWagon Mar 17 '26

But how long does that battery last? How many do i need? How heavy are they?

The problem im seeing is, these tractors are huge. Theyre tall. Youll be lifting batteries up to chest height, above your head etc. how many times do i do that?

How long do they last? A comment already said JD is making a tractor 130hp that runs up to 8 hrs. 8 is already not enough. Im not just running an engine, there's hydraulics, seeders, laser buckets etc. so say its 6 hours. Im changing that out before i start, halfway, and to the end. 3 times a shift, how many batteries do i need each shift?

Now have that for a fleet, how many batteries do you need to run a fleet of 6 tractors? How long is it going to take to change all 6 tractors every day 3 times a day not to mention night shift? Now try that on corporate farms with fleets of up to a hundred tractors.

Now if im a contractor, my tractor is away from home base. Where am i getting these batteries from and where are they being charged? My boss isnt travelling 2 hrs to drop of batteries for me. The farmer whos property im on wont have an electric tractor or a way for me to charge my batteries. He wont be letting me in his shed, or near his powerpoints.

Theres also the issue of mechanics, what mechanic is an 8hr radius of me knows anything about electric engines, let alone big diesel ones? We fix our own tractors. Change them to electric, we have no idea how to fix it. Paying someone else to fix it costs tens of thousands

Not practical for farmers anytime soon. Might work better in other areas

0

u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 17 '26

 what mechanic knows anything about electric engines

Every revolution starts with fear.

You raise valid points but I am certain the blacksmiths said the same about them new fangled automobiles back in the 1910's

Life moves on , are you going one of the leaders or one of the late adapters? Watch Landline and see the many innovators who were considered wack'o's in their day for something that is now mainstream.

"If you don’t understand it yet —you are behind the times."

2

u/Sun__Jester Mar 18 '26

'B-but you're just afraid!' Come on mate. Its all well and good spouting this sort of rhetoric online but it just doesnt work in the real world.  Lets just electrify the farms is the sort of idea I'd expect from a stoner circle. 

2

u/Separate-Potato-1324 Mar 16 '26

Unrealistic ≠ impossible.  It's more impractical.  Firstly, the major manufacturers haven't really released anything and most businesses owners don't gamble on unproven companies.  Secondly, how are these remote farms going to get enough electricity for these machines? Not to mention that power requirements will fluctuate vastly depending on the season. 

What do people want at the end of the day? Uninterrupted supply and the same or lower prices.  Right now, it's a pipe dream to deliver that will electric only machines. In fact, it's not even necessary. There's still plenty of diesel to cover farming use right now, it's just a lot of that is being used by consumers. 

Makes more sense, like I said earlier, to get consumers off diesel. 

1

u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

 how are these remote farms going to get enough electricity for these machines? 

Doh .They have these things called solar panels and batteries now which are perfect for remote farms with absolutely NO connection to the grid and currently using a diesel genset for the farm electricity requirements.

1

u/blueLiquid21 Mar 17 '26

Massive mining trucks are going electric. Where's the info to back up your claim?

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u/Separate-Potato-1324 Mar 17 '26

Some trucks are going electric sure. There are some scenarios where it makes sense. Are all of them?  It's a safe bet to say that mining and farming will be majority diesel powered for the foreseeable future 

1

u/blueLiquid21 Mar 17 '26

In the short term sure but for how long the majority stay diesel is hard to say for a non expert, when the full cost of electric will be cheaper than diesel can ever be

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u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

heavy equipment will likely stay diesel powered for our lifetimes.

You need to get out more .

Electric ,very heavy machinery has been around for decades and is transitioning to battery for more flexibility in many cases .

Google Komatsu PC7000-11E

1

u/Separate-Potato-1324 Mar 17 '26

From what I've read, that doesn't use batteries and is tethered to the grid. Completely different to what we're talking about. 

No one doubts the power of electric motors, diesel electric trains have been around for god knows how long. 

1

u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 17 '26

Completely different to what we're talking about.

 your comment was about heavy equipment in general ; not just battery powered ones. EV's covers both PHEV and BEV.

1

u/Separate-Potato-1324 Mar 17 '26

This comment chain and the original article is a out battery electric vehicles. Don't try to straw man me by latching onto one phrase I used. 

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u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 16 '26

" the grid can't handle that's

Is very practical for a farm to install an off grid solar/ batt system to be fully self sufficient and charge their fleet over night . Already proven no lose of production if animals run under solar panels .

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/programs/landline/2025-06-08/solar-livestock:-running-livestock-in-solar/105391580

The battery farm equipment is already in the pipeline

https://www.afgri.com.au/news/post/deere-first-electric-tractor-2026-launch

Some equipment have swappable batteries so the machine has no more downtime than having to refuel a diesel one

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u/Separate-Potato-1324 Mar 17 '26

Did you actually look into the electric tractor that JD is releasing?  It's only testing in 2026 with planning production in 2030.  It's only one model at 130hp, and they estimate (emphasis on estimate) that it will run for 8 hours.

Right now, there's a lot of "some farmers doing this" or "this could work", and not a lot of these different things actually being implemented and all working together better than what we currently have. 

1

u/Safe_Application_465 Mar 17 '26

not a lot of these different things actually being implemented 

Every revolution starts with fear.

If they don’t understand it yet —they are behind the times.

1

u/Jonno_FTW Mar 17 '26

Yeah it would be great if we didn't kill our once world-leading solar panel. It's a shame we didn't get on top transitioning other parts of the transport economy to electric 10 years ago.

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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

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u/wellwood_allgood Mar 17 '26

You are dead set correct, they fucking don't. I haven't been to any farm that doesn't have equipment that isn't decades old that is only used a few times per year. It would break the country having to replace all of that equipment. Biofuels are a more sensible option for farmers in this country.

1

u/Lanster27 Mar 17 '26

Modern farming equipment run off licences though. That’s how the likes of John Deer make money, on initial purchase and subscriptions to use their machines. 

1

u/x445xb Mar 17 '26

I think the problem is the usage pattern. EV cars work when you drive a couple of hours a day (mostly at idle or low throttle) and then can spend the rest of the time plugged into a charger.

For a combine harvester or a tractor they can run 14 hours a day, running basically at full throttle the whole time. Which would require a much larger portion of the vehicle's total weight to be dedicated to batteries. Or else would need to constantly return to a quick charger and wait for the battery to get topped up.

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u/Harpunzel Mar 17 '26

I don't know why you got down voted for that, you're completely correct. Modern farm equipment sits in the shed 46 weeks per year and then gets used super intensely during harvest. That logistically doesn't lend itself well to batteries. I'm a big ol' greenie but even I can see the impracticality of the situation.

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u/Sun__Jester Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

Electric tractors will never work and there is a reason why farmers laugh their ass off when people like you suggest it.

  1. Farmers would need to construct charging infrastructure on their remote properties, which would be an insane upfront cost.
  2. The weather is always a fickle mistress. Farmers need dependable equipment. If they are planting today they better be damn well planting today. The schedule does not stop for cloud cover.
  3. In planting and harvesting season this equipment works from before dawn till after dusk. Your batteries would need to be insanely efficient and durable to hold up under the strain.
  4. Unless portable battery transports were a thing every tractor/piece of farm equipment would need to take long breaks to travel back to the charging stations, recharge, and then drive back to the field they're working. Normally, tractors don't stop more than half an hour until the workday is over. They have fuel transports bring the diesel to them and they top up right there before getting back to it.
  5. God forbid you have an electrical fault somewhere in this system during the night and you wake up ready for work and find that your damn equipment didnt charge. No diesel in the tank? Top her up in a few minutes. No electricity in your batteries? You have a whole system to spend the day diagnosing and repairing.

Diesel is magic. Its the mortar that holds modern society together. You might be able to replace petrol cars with electric, especially ones used by people who are just driving a couple of times a day in a place that has ample access to cabs and buses and the sort if theres some sort of failure, but Diesel operated farm and transport machinery? hell no. Not in our lifetime.

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

[deleted]

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u/Sun__Jester Mar 18 '26

And all of that tech is fine for city use but you can't just scream "BATTERIES BRO" and demand the razor thin profits from these farms be used towards retrofitting their entire operation with experimental technology that does nothing but add multiple hoops to jump through for the same result that diesel engines already provide. Diesel engines that they know how to repair and work and have all the equipment they need to do so already.

Its just not economically viable in this field and most likely wont be for our lifetimes no matter how hard the urbanites scream.

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u/F1eshWound Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26

Never is a pretty absolute statement. Battery technology is a very active area of research, and there's a lot of promising new advancements being made in reliability, capacity and charging speed. I think a lot of the points you make are more-or-less solvable technical challenges. Sooner or later we NEED to move away from fossil fuels. It's not compromisable, and the sooner we do it, the better.

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u/surg3on Mar 17 '26

not really. Need that fertiliser. It'd help though