For the second year in a row, Monarch Tractor, manufacturer of the MK-V, the world’s first and currently only 100% electric, driver-optional, and smart tractor on the commercial market, has been named on the Cleantech Groups Global Cleantech 100. This annual list, now in its 16th year, showcases the most promising private cleantech companies making significant contributions to sustainable innovation.
When Monarch was first named, over 28,000 companies were reviewed from 147 countries for the 2024 Global Cleantech 100. Nominees were weighted and scored to create a short list of 330 companies reviewed by the 80 members of the Cleantech Groups Expert Panel. The final list contains the top 100 companies that the market agrees are well-positioned today to make significant impact in the next 5-10 years. For 2025, Monarch made the top 25.
For 2025, the cleantech theme is poised for pivotal milestones as market forces intensify and innovation accelerates. Continuing trends from 2024, including policy uncertainty, groundbreaking first-of-a-kind projects, and the surging demand for climate adaptation technologies, will emphasize the importance of product and project economics.
For Monarch, climate adaption technology comes in the form of a tractor that is helping farmers and land managers move towards greater profitability and safety, as well as energy and operational efficiency. By electrifying the tractor Monarch has removed diesel-related expenses from operations. Farmers and land managers can reduce their dependence on herbicides for weed control, which saves money, achieves greater independence from external inputs, and improves their soil microbiome. Because the MK-V can be used as a mobile power wall, owners have access to energy during power outages, which are an increasingly more common occurrence in today’s unpredictable and extreme weather events. As a smart tractor, the MK-V provides data on an array of metrics that tractor owners and operators are using for more informed decision making.
“Driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification, agriculture and land management has arrived as the next frontier for the energy transition and sustainability movement," says Praveen Penmetsa, CEO and co-founder of Monarch Tractor. “Agriculture is our planet's most important and overlooked sector, and those in the industry have faced significant challenges, including farm profitability, labor shortages, worker safety, government headwinds, data availability, and scrutiny for sustainability demands. Monarch's application of AI and introduction of a smart, electric platform will deliver robust social, economic, and environmental returns to farmers.”
The Global Cleantech 100 program has been running since 2009, the last 12 years with the support of Chubb, the world’s largest property and casualty insurance company.