The inventor was halfway through his run on a frozen river in a Saguenay park when he got the idea. He saw a young person in a wheelchair who was slowed down by the snow. Impossible to drive to shore. And the ice would have given way under the weight of a snowmobile.
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Yvon Martel began to imagine an electric caterpillar, light, capable of going anywhere, both in the snow and on the ground, on the ice or in the mud. All without noise. Without air pollution. And while he was inventing, he thought the ideal would be to be able to control it remotely.
“I had the click because I wanted to help people,” he says.
It was 13 years ago. The electric tankette, christened MTT, was born. Today it is present in outdoor centers, on farms, the Canadian Army is targeting it – even researchers in Greenland are interested in checking the thickness of the ice in the crevasses.
The MTT makes its way through fat bike, racing and ski slopes; he can walk in crevices, he opens paths everywhere. It only weighs 500 pounds. [226 kilogrammes] with a battery. It literally levitates on the snow, silently, without stinking the air.
Yvon Martell
Visually, the MTT is somewhat reminiscent of an Inuit racing sled. There are two models including one equipped with a joystick that can be controlled remotely. Recently, the caterpillar was tested in a garden park in California, where little goats can appear at night, says Mr. Martel proudly. He assures that no animal was harmed.
Electric Mobility Canada President and CEO Daniel Breton, former MP and Minister for the Environment, says he had the opportunity to meet the designer and his team five or six years ago. The caterpillar was already functional back then, he says. According to him, the provincial and federal governments are working to set up a loan for the purchase of this type of vehicle.
PHOTO ROCKET LAVOIE, THE DAILY
Yvon Martel and his electric caterpillar
PHOTO ROCKET LAVOIE, THE DAILY
Yvon Martel and his electric caterpillar
PHOTO ROCKET LAVOIE, THE DAILY
Yvon Martel and his electric caterpillar
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“I think the caterpillar is extremely original and practical, a brilliant idea. We are talking about an off-road working machine with a future. Not just for trails. The tankette is also used in places that are difficult to access, be it in the army, the coast guard or in the rescue service. »
Over the years, Mr. Martel and his team have managed to give the tankette a range of 75 kilometers thanks to three quickly replaceable batteries. The batteries have the special feature that they do not need a connection, they can be charged at a 240 volt socket in the home. The maximum speed of the caterpillar is 18 km/h.
Electric snowmobile
With its 24 national parks, the Society of Outdoor Establishments of Quebec (SEPAQ) has adopted a policy aimed at prioritizing electric or hybrid vehicle purchases to preserve its thousands of square miles. Three years ago, SEPAQ seriously considered acquiring the MTT before deciding to purchase seven electric snowmobiles (Taiga) for their patrols, luggage transport and various operations.
Simon Boivin, from SEPAQ’s communications department, explains that the “speed” required to maintain the cross-country ski trails weighed heavily on the scales. However, SEPAQ remains on the lookout for innovations, they say.
“In very cold weather, the classic cross-country and skating trails harden, I’m thinking of Duchesnay station and Camp Mercier in the Laurentides game reserve, among others. You need a groomer with big hydraulic power and a cab vehicle to cover long distances. »
Urban Hiking Trails
Mr. Martel recently presented his tankettes to the Norwegian Army for use in intervention and rescue operations. Talks are underway with a Montreal borough, he says. Also in hydropower. According to him, his caterpillar is the “smartphone of transport and energy”.
“The agricultural environment is becoming more and more important for us, among other things, for transporting hay bales to extend the protective covers of the seedlings. The MTT found takers in sugar bushes, including one with 115,000 taps; The tankette is at just the right height to check the tubes. We tested it on a 35 degree incline, it held a load of 1000 pounds. [454 kilogrammes] downhill. Its versatility is unmatched. »
MTT Technologie’s production plant in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean employs around twenty people. The annual production capacity is 5,000 tankettes, with materials mainly sourced locally, including aluminium.
tough competition
The competition to decarbonize off-road transport is fierce. In December, in the Savoy region of France, the Val Cenis ski center put into operation a first 100% electric snow groomer developed by the Prinoth company. The giant John Deere presented an electric tractor without a cab with a range of 10 hours last summer. Motrec industrial electric vehicles are also increasingly used in factories for passenger transport, especially at airports.