Australia will need a lot of big charging hubs: ARENA says electrifying road freight no longer optional

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has published the country’s first national blueprint for the electrification of its road freight industry, which highlights the need for 165 heavy vehicle charging hubs and upgrades to energy transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Developed over a period of 12 months with input from over 35 stakeholders, the new Electrifying Road Freight report examines the challenges of transitioning Australia’s road-freight industry to battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

Currently, according to the report, Australia’s road freight industry contributes 8.6 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) but also accounts for over 80 per cent of freight emissions and around one-third of the country’s total transport emissions – equivalent to 36 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

And with freight expected to grow by 77 per cent by the middle of the century, it is imperative that attention is turned immediately towards electrifying this sector if Australia is to meet its national climate goals.

As ARENA states, “Electrifying this critical sector is no longer optional, but essential.”

The report breaks down Australia’s road freight into three core use cases – urban freight, intrastate freight, and interstate freight, with urban freight representing the most immediate opportunity for electrification.

It says urban freight is tailor made for immediate electrification due to the available vehicle types, smaller distances travelled, and operational patterns – not to mention the presence of electrified urban freight fleets already in operation.

Conversely, intrastate and interstate freight represent medium- to longer-term opportunities and require further assessment to determine key routes and charging locations, as well as market development.

Underlying the specific use cases, however, is the need to ensure that the national energy grid is capable of servicing the additional energy demands entailed in a fully electrified road sector.

According to ARENA, future energy generation is not expected to be a “key determining factor” in the electrification of Australia’s road freight industry. This is not to say that additional generation is not needed, but rather that current forecasts “appear sufficient to meet the needs of the sector.”

More concerning, however, are the risks posed by the country’s ageing energy transmission and distribution network – particularly in the support of intrastate and interstate freight rollout, which will rely heavily on mid-journey charging.

While the majority of urban freight is associated with some form of back-to-base operations, allowing for charging at centralised depots or at individual drivers’ homes, the lion’s share of charging for intrastate and interstate freight is expected to occur on the road.

According to stakeholder input, 54 per cent of urban freight charging is expected to be done at depots, with 27 per cent at home and only 15 per cent on the road. These figures are flipped on their heads for intrastate and interstate freight, however, with on the road charging accounting for 48 per cent and 57 per cent respectively.

As such, the continued expansion of a national charging network, with particular attention paid to additional charging at three core locations – freight nodes, heavy vehicle rest stops, and freight centres.

Expansion of high-capacity EV charging stations around the country has expanded rapidly in recent years, with 229 ultra-fast charging locations available at the end of 2023.

However, to meet the growing demands of an electrified road freight industry, continued expansion will be required – with the ARENA report putting the number of future freight charging hubs at 165.  In particular, heavy vehicle rest stops with public charging should be located no more than 600 kilometres from one another.

ARENA was subsequently able to create an initial high-level map of major charging points across Australia.

Delivery of these core requirements will necessitate cooperate between all levels of government in an effort to further refine and localise future electric freight networks. Specifically, ARENA calls for significant cross-government focus on addressing policy and regulatory barriers to freight electrification.