The AUGA group, an organic food producer in Lithuania that developed the world’s first hybrid biomethane and electric tractor, has postponed the project for financial reasons.

In a statement, the company said its goal is to ensure continuity of operations, the long-term solvency of the group of companies and fulfilment of commitments to creditors.

To achieve this goal, the AUGA group is postponing its technology development plans indefinitely and giving all its attention to activities that generate cash flow, namely agriculture, biomethane production, and the supply of consumer-end products.

The group claims to be the largest vertically integrated organic food company in Europe, managing 38,000ha of organic arable land, milking cows and producing around 12,000t of mushrooms.

Fuel system

Three years ago, it unveiled its AUGA M1, a 400hp (294Kw) tractor using a hybrid biomethane-electric fuel system.

The tractor’s internal combustion engine powered by biomethane generates energy and transmits it directly to the electric motors that power the wheels.

Its big plus was having claimed to have solved the biomethane refuelling issue by offering quick gas cartridge replacement.

“Since 2018, AUGA invested €6 million in the M1 hybrid and electric tractor and sustainable feed technologies.

The technologies developed aimed not only to address sustainability issues in agriculture but also to boost the efficiency of production processes on AUGA farms,” explained Kestutis Jušcius, chair of the Board of the AUGA group.

“Without external financial support, however, the funds were insufficient to commercialise these technologies and generate returns in terms of efficiency already today.

They were meant to ensure both efficiency and sustainability over the long term, fully replacing the technologies that are currently used with those developed by AUGA.

“That €6m is just a small part of AUGA group’s total portfolio of commitments and is not the main reason for the company’s financial difficulties today.

The M1's big plus was having claimed to have solved the biomethane refuelling issue by offering quick gas cartridge replacement.

“However, the desire to change and to bring positive change to agriculture demanded a lot of strategic time and attention from management.

AUGA believed that sustainable technologies would be met with support, but that did not happen.

“Therefore, we are postponing our efforts to develop sustainable technologies until we secure external funding for that,” added Jušcius.