Smart farmer’s assistant - iTractor ®

Project Information

iTractor

Grant agreement ID: 719097

DOI

10.3030/719097

Project closed

EC signature date 27 February 2016

Start date 1 March 2016

End date 31 August 2016

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ITRACTOR UK LTD
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - iTractor (Smart farmer’s assistant - iTractor ®)

Reporting period: 2016-03-01 to 2016-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

"iTractor® is an innovative patented compact battery powered electric multifunctional tractor for work in a farm yard or livestock farm. It helps farmers in their everyday activities - cleaning, feeding and handling, lawn, etc... iTractor® is not a robot. But at the same time it is not just a farm tractor. It is a platform for the development of a whole family of new products.
The main problem and importance for society:
- the types of activities in the small farms are the same as in the big ones, but their volume does not allow diversification of activities and specialization of the workers resulting in low labor productivity;
- process automation in agriculture is currently available only for large farms because of the high initial cost;
- number of agricultural workers in 2014 fell down with 3% from 2013 (source: Eurostat).
Overall objectives:
- The strategic aim of ITRACTOR Ltd. is production start-up and market uptake of our hybrid smart robotized electric ""Universal Compact Farm Tractor"";
- To achieve commercialization of the iTractor® in UK by 2019.
"

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

So far we have implemented the following key activities:
1. Research – primary and secondary.
2. Analysis.
3. Reporting – preparation of different reports in 8 areas.
4. Evaluation – evaluation of the reports during the coaching
5. Design of detailed business plan.

The tangible results we have produced during the feasibility study are:
1. Separate reports in 8 key areas that include.
2. A final FS report including summaries of the extensive reports on IPR, Market Study, Technical Feasibility, Human resources, Financial feasibility, Risk Analysis, etc.
3. Detailed Business Plan.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Progress beyond the state of the art due to technical research and analysis:
- The use of “Lead-Acid” battery for over 15 years by controlling the charging-discharging process;
- iTractor® can be manufactured with 16 to 37 kWh battery (20 hp < iTractor® < 50 hp) for small farms up to 5 ha;
- Environmentally friendly – eliminates 39,940 kg CO2 emissions per year;
Expected growth:
A. Impact for our company - the profit margin under which we make our preliminary calculations is in the area of 8-10% and having in mind the average salary in UK, for the first 2 years we can estimate a job creation of roughly 13 people.
B. Socio-economic impact - Indirectly, entering the European market of iTractor® will lead to increase in turnover, profit and employment in the companies of our distributors.

Next steps interactions

Gantt chart for the next 2 years

Company Structure for Market replication phase