An all-electric tipper trucks supplied to the ACT. Source: SEA Electric
Australian electric truck pioneer SEA Electric says it will double the capacity of its Dandenong truck factory in Victoria, which will now be able to make eight electric trucks a day.
The SEA Electric factory will expand to cover 8,000m2 of its 15,000m2 site. The electric truck maker says this will enable it to make 2,080 units a year.
And it will do it with renewable energy. In 2021, the truck maker added a 100kW solar array to the roof. Since then it has generated 129MWh worth of energy. It has exported 86MWh of this back to the power grid.
SEA Electric’s range of zero emissions trucks include the SEA 300 EV and the SEA 500 EV. They are available in a variety of variants ranging from 4.5t GVM vehicles that can be driven on a car licence to 22.5t three-axle rigid trucks.
The company provides a variety of electric trucks for a wide range of applications. These include dry and refrigerated freight, side, front, and rear garbage trucks, tilt trays, work trucks, and raised work platforms. It is also ready to introduce Australia’s first airport refuelling EV truck.
Tony Fairweather, SEA Electric founder and CEO, underlined that Australia is in fact already making electric vehicles – at least, as far as trucks are concerned.
“Australia doesn’t need to search the world to attract EV manufacturers – SEA Electric is proud to be a global leader in commercial eMobility technology, homegrown here in Victoria,” he said in a statement.
He says the company has attracted “incredible interest” from a wide cross-section of companies and government bodies. These are typically organisations seeking to achieve environmental sustainability objectives.
“The recent change of Federal Government and the subsequent increase in EV activity, has provided SEA Electric with renewed confidence that appropriate policy and incentives maybe close. There are many examples of successful policy in EV progressive countries such as the US that we should simply emulate.
“Despite Australian passenger car production wrapping up in 2017, we still have vibrant engineering, development, and manufacturing capabilities, of which we should be proud.”
SEA Electric has a plan to utilise electric trucks with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities at the SEA Electric truck facility. By having V2G trucks on site, it can help to provide local grid stability, it says.
SEA Electric was founded in Australia in 2012 and produced its first electric commercial products in 2017. In 2021 it unveiled a new range of medium and heavy-duty electric cab chassis models.
SEA Electric trucks are supplied and serviced by an extensive dealership network. A complete after-sales and warranty provision, including 24/7 phone and roadside assistance, as well as a nationwide network of dedicated service partners, backs up the vehicles.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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