The NEXAT is an autonomous all-in-one machine that can be used for tillage, planting, spraying and harvesting. The interchangeable implements are mounted between four large electrically driven tracks.
“The idea and philosophy behind the NEXAT is to enable a holistic crop production system where 95% of the cultivated area is free of soil compaction,” says Lothar Fliß, who works in marketing for NEXAT. “This system offers the best setup for carbon farming in combination with regenerative agriculture and optimal yield potential.”
The NEXAT system carries the modules, rather than pulls them, as Fliß describes, which allowed the company to develop a simpler and lighter main frame that delivers 50% more power with 40% less weight. In operation, weight is transferred onto the carrier vehicle and large tracks, “where you need it,” Fliß explains, and optimized so it becomes a self-propelled machine.
“This enables the implements to be guided more accurately and with less slip, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions more than 30%,” he says. “Because the NEXAT carries the implement, there’s not an extra chassis with extra wheels. The setup creates the best precision at a high working width that reduces soil compaction on the growing areas.”
The machine is driven horizontally in the field but rotates 90° for road travel. Two independent diesel engines, each offering 545 hp, supply power. The cab, which can rotate 270°, is the basis for fully automated machine operation but enables manual guidance during transport.
Swapping modules can be done by one person in 10 min., but NEXAT plans to automate this step in the future.
The NEXAT system ranges between 20’ and 80’, but the current test vehicles are 45’ wide.
The tillage and planting modules came from Väderstad, a Swedish company. The CrossCutter disks for ultra-shallow tillage and Tempo planter components are no different than what’s found on traditional Väderstad implements.
The crop protection modules, which work like a conventional self-propelled sprayer, come from the German company Dammann. The sprayer has a 230’ boom, with ground clearance up to 6.5’, and a tank capacity of about 6,340 gal.
The NexCo combine harvester module achieves grain throughputs of 1,930 bu. to 2,975 bu. per acre. A 19’ long axial rotor is mounted transverse to the direction of travel and the flow of harvested material is introduced centrally into the rotor and at an angle to achieve energy efficiency. The rotor divides it into two material flows, which according to NEXAT, enables roughly twice the threshing performance of conventional machines. Two choppers provide uniform straw and chaff distribution, even with a 46’ cutting width.
The grain hopper holds 1,020 bu. with can be unloaded in about a minute.
