Kubota Corporation (Head office: Naniwa-ku, Osaka; President and Representative Director: Yuichi Kitao; hereinafter “Kubota”) will exhibit a concept model of an autonomous fuel cell tractor at the event “Hydrogen Energy Park!!,” which will be held over four days from Monday, September 22 to Thursday, September 25 at the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai.

• The world's first unveiling of an actual tractor powered by a hydrogen fuel cell with an autonomous driving function. Kubota research

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  Autonomous Fuel Cell Tractor

1. Development background and objective

• In the agricultural sector, while decarbonization is required as a response to climate change, severe labor shortages and population aging are worsening worldwide, making the simultaneous achievement of decarbonization and labor savings an urgent social issue.
• In addition to electrification using batteries, we are promoting all-round research and development toward decarbonization, such as engines that use hydrogen, biofuels, and synthetic fuels. In particular, since large agricultural machinery requires high output and long operating hours, the introduction of hydrogen fuel cells, which offer high energy density, is considered one of the most promising solutions for achieving the required performance while also reducing environmental impact.
• Building on our long-standing expertise in agricultural machinery development, we have developed an autonomous fuel cell tractor that integrates technologies for configuring and controlling hydrogen fuel cell systems optimized for tractors, along with autonomous driving and remote operation capabilities. The concept behind this model is to simultaneously achieve environmental sustainability, operational efficiency, and labor saving. Since only water is discharged during operation, it is environmentally friendly, and is also designed for operation without operators onboard via autonomous driving and remote control, and exhibits the functions and values required for next-generation agricultural machinery in a concrete form.
• Going forward, we plan to conduct demonstration tests in Japan fields using this concept model, including verification of advanced unmanned autonomous driving, consideration of hydrogen supply methods for agriculture, and confirmation of suitability for farming operations, while further advancing research and development.
• Kubota will continue to contribute to the realization of sustainable agriculture through the development of outstanding products and the provision of solutions.

2. Overview of the autonomous fuel cell tractor concept model

Dimensions	(L) 4380 mm x (W) 2200 mm x (H) 2290 mm
Output	Equivalent to a 100-horsepower diesel engine tractor
Fuel	Compressed hydrogen
Fuel cell type	Solid polymer

3. Overview of the “Hydrogen Energy Park!!”

Organizers	Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry); New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO); and Japan Hydrogen Association (JH2A)
Main content	Exhibition of hydrogen-related equipment, talk shows, etc.
Event period	Monday, September 22, 2025 to Thursday, September 25, 2025
Venue	EXPO Exhibition Center at the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai

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