Ireland's first battery-electric agricultural tractor to be unveiled at National Ploughing Championships
Mike Keane (left) founder of Hibra Design with the team behind the first fully operational, full-size agricultural tractor in Ireland.
Hibra Design, a Cork-based specialist vehicle design engineering company, will showcase a groundbreaking innovation at this year’s Ploughing Championships: a John Deere agricultural tractor re-engineered from diesel to full battery-electric power.
Commissioned by Bord Na Móna (BNM), the tractor is the first fully operational, full-size agricultural tractor in Ireland and one of only a few in the world.
Designed specifically for the extreme conditions of Irish boglands, the vehicle offers more than 400Nm of torque, a 55kWh battery providing up to 2.5 hours of continuous operation, and a rapid one-hour recharge capability.
The electric tractor is a versatile workhorse, supporting BNM in bogland rewetting, sphagnum moss planting, and even functioning as a mobile energy source for battery-powered drones.
Unlike the popular electric conversions of classic cars, the tractor project required the full integration of the electric powertrain with the tractor’s complex computer control systems, 4WD transmission, PTO, and hydraulic capabilities.
The result was a testament to Hibra Design’s advanced engineering expertise.
The project was completed over 13 months, including nine months of design and engineering and four months of intensive build and testing.
The vehicle will be launched to the public for the first time in the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena, Stand 228, at the forthcoming National Ploughing Championship.
Commenting on the project, Mike Keane, founder of Hibra Design, said: "This tractor project exemplifies our competencies at Hibra Design - engineering complex vehicles to meet the specific needs of our clients, while pushing the boundaries of clean technology in practical, high-performance applications."
Founded in 2022, Hibra Design provides the full spectrum of vehicle engineering services in Ireland, from bespoke vehicle development to re-engineering existing vehicles with clean-technology powertrain systems.
In less than three years, the company has secured public and private-sector projects across Ireland, the EU, the Middle East, and South Africa,
In doing so it also earned multiple industry awards including Electric Vehicle Pioneer of the Year 2025 and the Product and Manufacturing Gold Award at the 2024 National Start-Up Awards.
Hibra Design’s multidisciplinary team brings experience from Formula 1, and the automotive and aerospace industries.
In their Cork design office and worskhop, the company has developed solutions for road vehicles, off-highway vehicles, marine, and aircraft projects.
Their in-team capabilities range across mechanical, electrical, controls systems, dynamic and thermodynamic engineering; supported by HDS (Hibra Design System), a proprietary vehicle analysis software that offers clients rapid assessment of technical and cost feasibility for bespoke vehicle development solutions.
Hibra Design is a Cork-based specialist vehicle design engineering company providing bespoke vehicle development and clean-technology engineering across multiple vehicle sectors.
