Blue planet, green ideas | All-terrain electric caterpillar

The inventor was halfway through his run, on a frozen river in a Saguenay park, when he had the idea. He saw a young person in a wheelchair slowed down by the snow. Impossible to drive to the shore. And the ice would have given way under the weight of a snowmobile.

Yvon Martel began to imagine an electric caterpillar, light, able to go anywhere, both in the snow and on the ground, on the ice or in the mud. All without noise. Without air pollution. And while inventing, he thought that the ideal would be to be able to remote control it.

“I had the click by wanting to help the human,” he says.

It was 13 years ago. The electric tankette, baptized MTT, was born. Today, it is present in outdoor centres, on agricultural farms, the Canadian army has it in its sights – even researchers in Greenland are interested in it to check the thickness of the ice in the crevices.

Visually, the MTT has something reminiscent of Inuit luges. There are two models, including one equipped with a joystick, which can be guided remotely. Recently, the caterpillar was tested in a garden park in California, where small goats can appear at night, says Mr. Martel proudly. He assures that no animal was harmed.

President and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada, Daniel Breton, former MP and Minister of the Environment, says he had the opportunity to meet the designer and his team five or six years ago. The caterpillar was already functional at the time, he says. According to him, work is being studied by the provincial and federal governments to establish a credit for the purchase of this type of vehicle.

“I find the caterpillar extremely original and practical, a brilliant idea. We’re talking about an off-road work tool that has a definite future. Not just for trails. The tankette certainly has its uses in hard-to-reach areas, whether for the army, the coast guard or for rescues. »

Over the years, Mr. Martel and his team have managed to give the tankette a range of 75 kilometers, thanks to three quickly interchangeable batteries. The batteries have this particularity that they do not need a terminal, they can be recharged on a residential 240 volt socket. 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 the purchase of electric or hybrid to maintain its thousands of square kilometres. Three years ago, SEPAQ seriously considered acquiring the MTT, before deciding on the purchase of seven electric snowmobiles (Taiga) for its patrols, luggage transport and various interventions.

Simon Boivin, from the communications department at SEPAQ, explains that the “speed” needed to maintain the cross-country ski trails weighed heavily in the balance. However, SEPAQ remains on the lookout for innovations, it is explained.

“In very cold weather, the classic cross-country skiing and skating trails tend to harden, I am thinking, among others, of those at Duchesnay station and Camp Mercier, in the Laurentides wildlife reserve. You need a groomer with great hydraulic power, and a vehicle with a cab to cover long distances. »

Urban trails

Mr. Martel recently presented his tankette to the Norwegian army, to carry out interventions and rescue operations. Talks are underway with a Montreal borough, he says. With the hydroelectric sector, too. According to him, his caterpillar is the “smartphone of transport and energy”.

“The agricultural environment is becoming incredibly important for us, among other things for the transport of hay bales, to extend the protective covers on the seedlings. The MTT found takers in sugar bushes, including one with 115,000 taps; the tankette is just at the right height to check the pipes. We tested it on a 35 degree slope, it supported a load of 1000 lbs. [454 kilogrammes] downhill. Its versatility is unmatched. »

The MTT Technologie manufacturing plant in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean has about twenty employees. Its annual production capacity is 5,000 tankettes, with materials coming mainly from the region, including aluminum.