Grüne Woche: Friedrich Merz and Alois Rainer visit the Onox tractor

The research work at TUM primarily involves testing and optimizing the replaceable lithium iron phosphate batteries manufactured by Ansmann, combined with an intelligent energy charging system. This enables the tractor to also be used as an energy storage device. For example, energy generated by the farm's own photovoltaic systems can be stored and used directly.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (BMLEH) as part of the German Agricultural Innovation Partnership (DIP). The tractor was visited by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer at the “Green Week” on January 20.

“The Federal Chancellor and Federal Minister were particularly pleased that a German start-up is conducting research on e-mobility in agricultural technology in collaboration with a German university,” says Julius Wendling, who is involved in the project on behalf of TUM and is pursuing his doctorate at the Chair of Agricultural Systems Engineering.

The ONOX project managers, Sebastian Schlegel and Daniel Hornung, are TUM alumni and were active at TU Fast during their time at TUM.

FlexETractor

The technologies presented, featuring replaceable rather than permanently installed batteries and an intelligent energy management system, have been researched since June 2023 by the Chair of Agricultural Systems Engineering, ONOX, and the Ansmann company as part of the FlexETractor project. The aim of the project is to advance the electrification of agriculture by replacing conventional diesel tractors with electric drives with quickly replaceable batteries. The replaceable batteries enable virtually uninterrupted use.

The Onox tractor won the German Sustainability Award in 2025.