Australian trucking giants to roll out another 54 electric heavy trucks and charging network

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.

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.