17 of vehicles being launched per year is going up dramatically. “None of our vehicles are super high-volume compared to automotive. So, from a business standpoint, I can’t develop a custom hardware or software for every single vehicle, that’s just not practical. So, to give you a bit of the secret sauce, we have developed modular products that can scale – like single and dual inverters that reuse the same components and software, and smart ways to package and use multiinverter systems – then, we also have a really rich software feature set, which does way more than you might think a normal inverter needs. “Having that all in the software library means I can put it in many different applications. We can enable series electric, split-path variable transmission, battery-electric, all because we have developed this system to work on different types of powertrains or systems and can quickly transition it to a new application. So, we’re electrifying in ways that make sense. Our highest-horsepower tractors are not battery because that is not very practical; instead, we focused attention on lower-horsepower vehicles and have released battery-electric versions of vehicles such as loaders, excavators and zero-turning radius lawnmowers.” There remains fundamental work to do, however, as these hard-working vehicles not only require ruggedised components, but their heating and cooling systems are on the outer layers of the mainstream – and less work is being done in the supply chain on the extremes of performance. Indeed, having recognised the importance of battery performance, John Deere recently purchased its own majority ownership in a battery company, Kreisel Electric. This was a strategic move and Wanner explains: “Kreisel has a patented technology to use dielectric immersion cooling inside the battery itself, where all the cells are in direct contact with the coolant. That keeps them at a very uniform temperature, so it’s much more effective cooling, you get more power, they’re safer and they last longer – and those sorts of technologies really do make a difference in our world. “Although the products we’ve already released to production are very robust, we are always looking for components that have more capabilities or are less expensive for the same capability. New generations of power modules, for example, offer the same performance for lower price, smaller size and weight, while the advent of wide band gap, silicon carbide, gallium nitride and things like that are unlocking different capabilities.” This, says Wanner, is allowing products to be more power dense, more efficient, have faster switching and still have very high ampacity. The general market trend for higher voltage – to achieve either higher power or reduce the current or the conductor sizes – also requires newer components to handle the higher voltage. So, when it comes to reliability, he sees the next generation of devices delivering marked improvements in that area too. In this ever-evolving electrification journey, Wanner’s acknowledgement by the company as an Electrification Engineering Fellow puts him out there as a leader in the field and, when asked about this recognition, he quips: “I’ve just made tons of mistakes and learned from them,” before adding: “I think I’m one of the only Fellows in the company that doesn’t have a PhD! I’m just a farm kid and I’m so proud of that. “To be a Fellow, you have to be known internally and externally as a world expert in your field. So, they had to go out and get testimonies from people in other industries, academia, labs, all sorts of different areas outside of the company recognising my competency. It is about recognising an ability to apply technology in ways that provide business and customer value, which is really important to me; so overall, it was an extremely humbling experience. “One of the best things about my career has been the constant learning. I’m an electronics guy, but I had to learn a ton about controls, motors, cooling, sealing for the environment, as well as all the system-level interactions. So, there are all of these things that I’ve ended up getting involved with and that has just been really fun – but also over the years, I’ve loved giving people a first-hand experience of American agriculture. “My oldest brother still runs the family farm. So, I’ve taken interns and engineers from all around the world there to talk to my family, to find out why the vehicles have to be so productive and such high quality. I totally get it. We have to help with labour shortage, help get more things done with fewer people, and use less fertiliser and less herbicides – and our technology enables those things. That’s why it’s exciting to come into work every day.” E-Mobility Engineering | January/February 2026 Wanner’s team continues to deliver innovative solutions – like offboarding electric power using Electric Variable Transmission (EVT) and Spudnik’s 6631-3 Row AirSep Potato Harvester
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