Plans for the biggest heavy electric truck depot in Australia are rapidly taking shape, and looks set to benefit from government support after being selected as one four inaugural projects in the federal government’s new Investor Front Door program.
New Energy Transport, which recently completed a landmark long distance electric freight delivery from Sydney to Canberra, plans to build a massive depot at Wilton, south-west of Sydney. It will support up to 50 heavy electric trucks and will anchor electrified freight corridors between Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Canberra.
New Energy Transport wants to start operations on these routes by the end of this year, before expanding to Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide by 2031, and it plans to build more such depots as it grows.
The Wilton depot will initially feature around 12 high powered (megawatt scale) charging bays, solar canopies, a 20 megawatt hour battery to manage peak pricing, and there are plans to boost the capacity to up to 200 trucks at a later stage.
The selection of the Wilton hub was announced on Thursday by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and resources minister Madeleine King, who said it would be the first in a proposed network of electric freight hubs that would help reduce the country’s reliance on diesel freight and imported fuels.
“Being selected for the Investor Front Door program is a significant recognition of what we’re building at New Energy Transport,” said New Energy Transport co-CEO Daniel Bleakley.
“Electric trucks offer a pathway to decouple Australia’s freight system from volatile global energy markets, dramatically improving supply chain resilience and national energy security. We’re proud to be leading the charge to all-electric road freight in Australia.”
New Energy Transport has already completed Australia’s longest single-charge electric truck delivery – a 480 kilometre round trip between Sydney and the Hunter region – and last month completed Australia’s first end-to-end all-electric freight delivery between Sydney and Canberra.
It said that the fuel costs of the Sydney-Canberra trip were a fraction of those of diesel trucks, both trips were completed a lot faster (electric trucks do not struggle up hills as diesel trucks do), and of course with fewer emissions.
“Our commercial deliveries have proven that electric road freight is not only technologically possible in Australia – it’s commercially viable and delivers real economic and productivity gains for our customers,” said New Energy Transport other co-CEO Fredrik Pehrsson.
“The Windrose all-electric prime mover used in the Sydney to Canberra run achieved an 84 per cent reduction in energy costs compared to diesel, and also completed the journey 25 minutes faster than a diesel truck on the same route.
“These results show the immediate economic and productivity benefits available to major transport buyers that transition to all-electric road freight in Australia.”
The challenge, however, remains in the upfront capital costs of electric trucks – still more expensive although the gap is rapidly narrowing – and building the necessary infrastructure to support it.
The Investor Front Door program aims to simply the development of major, transformational projects, and make them more attractive to investors. The program will provide New Energy Transport with government support to navigate regulatory and approval pathways, as well as assistance with government financing opportunities.
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.