Coles Chief Operations & Sustainability Officer Matt Swindells with Linfox Chief Executive Officer Mark Mazurek. Coles handout.
Australian trucking and logistics giants Linfox and Toll Holdings are to roll out a combined 54 fully battery electric trucks as part of a new funding round announced by the federal government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
The additional funds were announced on Saturday by federal energy and climate minister Chris Bowen, along with his revelation that new standards will allow EV drivers to use vehicle to grid technology by the end of the year on the country’s main grid.
It also comes as the federal government announces a $36 million funding boost to the Driving the Nation program, bringing available funding to boost take up of heavy electric vehicles in the logistics and delivery sectors to $100 million.
The separate trucking funding announced on Saturday will see Linfox use a $19.6 million grant to help roll out 26 battery-electric trucks across three of its distribution centres in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, and to build supporting charging infrastructure at the sites.
Toll will use a $9 million grant to deploy 28 battery-electric trucks and construct supporting charging infrastructure – 30 charging ports for electric trucks – at 10 sites across Australia. The plan involves 18 Volvo electric prime movers and 10 Volvo electric rigid trucks.
“These are important steps forward for the industry to roll out cleaner, quieter, more comfortable trucks. And over time it will bring down their operating costs, which is ultimately a good thing for consumers,” Bowen said in a speech to an EV conference in Sydney.
In a separate announcement, ARENA said Linfox will deploy its 26 battery electric trucks over three years to a range of customers across metropolitan and regional routes, and will seek to validate the performance of heavy EV trucks over longer distances, multiple duty cycles per day and at scale.
“Supporting both Linfox and Toll to electrify their heavy vehicle fleet is a significant milestone in our goal to decarbonise transport,” ARENA CEO Darren Miller said.
“By transitioning to electric vehicles, not only are these companies able to reduce their carbon footprint, but it also sets a new standard for sustainability in freight.”
Miller says the funds are part of a $100 million push to help decarbonise heavy transport and showing the transport and freight sectors what is possible when decarbonising heavy vehicles.
Toll Group managing director Alan Beacham said the project is one of the largest corporate investments in heavy electric vehicles in Australia.
“The funding from ARENA supports an important part of our broader strategy to optimise the environmental sustainability of our operations, and we’re delighted to be supporting our customers through a shared commitment to decarbonising their supply chains without needing to rely solely on carbon offsets,” he said.
“We’re excited at the prospect of expanding electrification across a larger portion of our fleet over time.”
The new focus areas under the Driving the Nation Program will be open to applications from 9 November 2024. ARENA will also be hosting an informative webinar on 19 November.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.
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Good. We just need a network of mega chargers up and down the East coast and further inland. Once that's in place this will move from a niche to the mainstream.
With a transmission connection between East and West we could also consider Mega Charging across the Nullabor as well.
Or electrify the rail line
Probably need major rail additions for any increase in traffic due to almost all single track. I think the first step will be battery electric with pantograph recharge on 5 to 10km passing loops. They will probably have Mega charge level of recharge and travel on passing loop 5 to 10kmh as oncoming train passes by without charging. This may require 10 times as many passing loops as currently exist - one every 100km?
Single track is an issue but the Nullarbor is not a metro service. A few more sidings should suffice. And a bit more floodproofing.
Exactly and this site hates commen sense
Or put Megapacks on the trains.
True. And transmission across the Nullarbor would allow Perth and east coast cities to supply each other with solar.
I wonder how hard it is to tap into a HVDC line to feed an electric train ?
That would be good, high speed rail coast to coast.
How in hells name was the V2G news not the headline in the article?!
because it has its own article
So, the biggest trucking companies in Australia will get Federal grant funding to adopt new technology which will vastly reduce their operating costs.
I wonder, is there any chance the small owner-operator might be able to access similar funding to compete on a level playing field?
Take a look at the philosophy of every wealthy entity.
Never spend your own money.
Hit the nail on the head with that one.........
The federal government owns Australia post/star track but keeps funding its major opponents Linfox toll team global express with all these millions of dollars of ev handouts. It’s madness
28 million of tax payers money not a cent from Lin fox
Linfox has ordered 550 Volvo EV trucks so they will be paying out of their own pocket. How else do lobbyists justify their existence?
Totally Gus, this happens all the time and the big boys (who already make huge profits) get all the funding. We tried to get funding for electric vans 6 years ago and had to buy our own at full cost 2 years later. Small businesses are the leaders in adopting innovative approaches but never get the assistance, it really sucks.
Another small step towards for better future. Keep on trucking with zero emissions.
Almost 29 million in tax payers money.
You are so h appy Giles because it cost linfox nothing
Its a grant, not wholly funded.
The taxpayer will get reduced tax deductions for fuel costs, cheaper food, less imported fuel......
That is true.
Toll will use a $9 million grant to deploy 28 battery-electric trucks and construct supporting charging infrastructure. Linfox use a $19.6 million grant to help roll out 26 battery-electric trucks and construct supporting charging infrastructure. Someone is getting a better grant.
$9m for 28 trucks Toll
$19.6m for 26 trucks Linfox
Electrification of heavy transport can't come quickly enough.....if only for the massive noise reduction. Tesla had nothing to do with it either.
There certainly will be diesel engine noise reduction, particularly the unnecessary exhaust brakes. However there will still be considerable noise from the all the bits that bounce around and the engine/drive train. I recently followed a converted log truck near mount Gambier and was surprised by the audible electric motor and transmission.
Not being choked by diesel fumes was a big plus though.
Log trucks.
Another perfect example of the disgraceful decisions that allowed a purpose built railway network to become delapidated. A properly maintained and financed service would take 90% of these trucks off our highways.
Yes it make no sense. No sense that is until you consider the power of the trucking industry and historically associated unions.
Tesla Semi started the ball rolling. Volvo followed suit. It depends whether Tesla can ramp up the Semi successfully or not.
Will there be a PHEV version one day ?.
I hope not.
They're not a gateway, they're a seawall.
You have to wonder why there hasn't at least been HEV trucks so far, given the huge fuel bills.
54 trucks down, only 625,000 to go.
It must be the pollution in the cities that allows this sort of weird thinking. This was an ideal opportunity to get freight off the roads and onto railways. No one is thinking about continued road maintenance, tyres or even where we are going to get tar in future.