Australia Post unveils its first heavy-duty electric truck

Australia Post has unveiled its first heavy-duty large electric truck, a Mercedes-Benz eActros that will be trialled in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

The Mercedes-Benz eActros 300, manufactured by Daimler Truck, will be the first heavy-duty electric truck to join Australia Post’s national fleet. Featuring a bespoke cab chassis and storage capacity of up to 20ULDs, the eActros 300 is an older model, with an original range of up to 220 kilometres on a single charge.

The truck will operate out of the Dandenong Letters Centre, in Melbourne’s southeast, conducting customer pick-ups in the southeastern and eastern suburbs.

Australia Post has been active in electrification and earlier this month announced the rollout of 500 three-wheeled electric vehicles to replace petrol-powered motorbikes before the Christmas rush. And in August it announced 36 new Mercedes-Benz eVito electric vans to its delivery network.

Adding the eActros will serve as an initial trial to help Australia Post understand how large electric vehicles can be integrated into the organisation’s operations.

“Trialling the eActros will give us valuable insights into how heavy-duty electric vehicles can perform across our network,” said Mitch Buxton, Australia Post general manager for network assets and implementation.

“We’ve been investing in electric delivery vehicles for more than a decade, and this is the next step in building a cleaner, smarter and more resilient fleet for the future.

“Introducing electric trucks is not without its challenges, from charging infrastructure to range and load capacity – but it’s a challenge we are excited to take on.”

Australia Post also announced on Wednesday that it would begin using a new “renewable diesel” blend in vehicles operating out of its Redbank Parcel Facility in Brisbane.

The claim is something of a misnomer, given that Australia Post will actually be using 5 million litres of Amplify Diesel R10 made by Australian petroleum company Ampol, which includes a 10 per cent blend of the company’s renewable diesel.

Ampol actually does make a so-called renewable diesel, marketed under the name R100 Renewable Diesel, which the company describes as “a chemically similar drop-in for regular mineral diesel” that is “manufactured by hydrotreating waste feedstocks including used cooking oil (UCO) and tallow, and provide carbon emissions reduction on a life cycle basis.”

The actual level of CO2 emissions achieved by R100 apparently depends on a variety of factors, including the vehicle’s engine, equipment, operating conditions, feedstock source, and “calculation methodology”.

Ampol also advertises on its website an R20 diesel blend which, as the name suggests, contains up to 20 per cent volume renewable diesel and which can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 18 per cent, based again on the chosen feedstock. Ampol’s R10, which is not advertised on the company’s website, presumably has a lower reduction in CO2 emissions.

“Renewable diesel has the potential to lower fuel lifecycle emissions as its manufactured from renewable feedstocks such as canola or waste products and is a logical solution for hard to abate industries where fleet or infrastructure changes are not required,” said Brad Phillips, Ampol general manager for B2B.

“We’re excited to support Australia Post in their journey through the energy transition.”

The Ampol R10 will be used in the fleet of 89 vehicles operating out of Australia Post’s Redbank Parcel Facility over the next year, marginally reducing lifecycle emissions without requiring engine modifications.

“We know there’s no single path to decarbonising a fleet of our size and scale,” said Buxton.

“That’s why we’re exploring a range of cleaner alternatives, from electric vehicles to renewable diesel to find the best mix to support the size of our operations. Each step helps us learn, adapt and keep driving on our path to target net zero emissions by 2050.”