EnergyAustralia to trial electric trucks at two coal fired power stations

EnergyAustralia, one of the country’s three big energy utilities, has announced it is to trial the use of electric trucks at two of its power stations, starting later this month. 

The truck chosen by EnergyAustralia is Foton Mobility’s T5 Light Duty vehicle, which was on show at the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show earlier this year.

The truck will arrive at the Mt Piper power station on June 21 this year then will be operating in Yallourn by mid-July.

Each trial will last between 4 to 8 weeks and will replace one diesel truck at the sites. 

Both these power plants use coal as their primary fuel.

“We want to understand the feasibility of replacing regular diesel trucks with electric trucks at our power generation sites while maintaining operational efficiency,” said EnergyAustralia Head of Green Transport Jack Kotlyar. 

Last year, EnergyAustralia pledged support to the heavy vehicle electrification transition. It committed to work with large transport and bus operators to plan and build charging infrastructure hubs that were powered by renewables.

The electric trucks are part of a larger arrangement between EnergyAustralia and Foton Mobility, to support EV charging infrastructure and electricity generation. 

A similar arrangement was reached between equipment company Caterpillar and BHP back in 2021, although testing has only just begun. 

“This trial will contribute to our existing customer data and provide invaluable insights into various usage models across multiple geographic locations,” says CEO of Foton, Neil Wang.

While Auspost has recently added a handful of electric delivery trucks to its fleet, and Woolworths has 27 new electric vehicles for deliveries, including the Foton T5 (pictured above) many Australian companies have not yet made the leap or are still in the trial stages. 

A recent report suggested that over half of newly registered trucks in Europe the US and China will be electric by 2035. Australia still has a long way to go.