Mechanisation of harvesting using robotics/technology for "Palm Oil"

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

CNHI is looking for solutions providers to automate the harvesting process using robotics, specifically for Palm Oil.

71 million tonnes of Palm Oil are harvested annually - 84% of that in Indonesia (Hectare 15 mil) and Malaysia (Hectare 5 mil), with Hectare 8 million ground outside of these two countries. Currently, 100% of Palm Oil is harvested by hand. The process involves people walking through the Palm Oil Fields and using knives on long poles to cut the fruit from the trees. Fruit bunches hit the ground and “explode”, so a second operation is required to collect the fruit bunches and loose fruit (containing the most oil) from the field floor.

We have never before tried a solution to solve this problem but the consequences for CNHI are significant. Fruit is often left to “rot” on the tree due to labour shortages. The situation has worsened due to the Covid pandemic, as a lot of migrant labour is used. Improving harvesting efficiency will maximise yields from current Oil Palm growing areas. In addition to this, operator safety is currently being neglected, which is another issue we hope to address.

The solutions provider will be working with limited access to infrastructure (such as connectivity and electricity)

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS / PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:

CNHI will be evaluating the solution providers on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, we will be looking at the following requirements and criteria:

Performance Criteria:

• Overall capital expenditure to implement the solution
• Operational expenditure to operate the solution
• The overall Return on Investment (ROI) of the solution
• Safety: we are targeting an increase in workers safety
• Increased productivity & performance: we would be looking to increase the yield, enabling us to get more palm oil out of our existing culture(s).

Technical Criteria:

• Initially, we would be looking at a solution that could travel on even land (which represents roughly 50% of the existing cultures).
• Afterwards, the ability to travel over uneven ground between the palm oil trees could be considered as an additional add-on criteria
• A maximum weight of the machine to operate would be 3 to 4 tonnes
• The ability to automatically harvest Palm Oil fruits, whilst also trying to ensure that the harvest occurs at the point of optimum maturity of the fruit in order to retain its integrity
• The ability to integrate with our existing logistics processes
• The ability to operate continuously (24/7)

COST TARGET

The cost of the solution will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We are looking for a solution that provides us with a measurable Return on Investment (ROI). This means that after our initial investment and operational expenditure required to implement the solution, we are looking at a return on investment to justify the outlay. Specifics will depend on the solution provider(s).

TIMEFRAME FOR DEVELOPMENT

Phase 1: PoC/Trail to be conducted (5-6 months).

Phase 2: Further commercial roll-out. Timeline to be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

POTENTIAL MARKET / BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

CNHI believes this market to be substantial. If you were to look at approximately 20 million hectares of palm oil plantations as a benchmark number, and if we assume the solution would harvest 50% of the plantations on a yearly capacity of 500 hectares per year, this would represent a volume of 20.000 solutions with CNHI alone.

RESOURCES

1. Paid trial support up to S$70,000
2. Project management and engineering support through our India Technology Centre in New Delhi (the equivalent of S$70,000 in-kind support)

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

If the project is successful, CHNI is interested to explore the following potential collaboration opportunities:

1. Becoming a launching customer of the startup
2. Joint development and potential join IP ownership
3. Equity investment in the selected startup (in case of synergy)
4. Joint go to market to partners and customers

Contact / source: Enterprise Singapore Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge - Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge 2022 (innovation-challenge.sg)