Australia is powering forward in the race to electrify heavy vehicles with funding initiatives, which will aid electric logistics.
Australia’s Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed $100 million to its Driving the Nation program, focusing on three key areas to help shift heavy vehicles to electric power.
In a move to decarbonize road transport, ARENA is also investing $28.6 million in two major freight projects, giving $19.6 million to Linfox and $9 million to Toll.
Greener freight solutions in Australia
Together, these projects will bring in over $124 million toward greener freight solutions, funded as part of ARENA’s 2022 Driving the Nation priorities.
ARENA’s CEO Darren Miller highlights the heavy transport sector’s key role in lessening the environmental impact of goods transportation. “The heavy vehicle market has matured significantly over the past year in relation to battery electric vehicles, particularly vehicle availability and infrastructure,” says Miller.
Miller adds however that there are still significant hurdles including upfront costs for operators, challenges with charging technology and infrastructure, as well as the shortage of real-world data.
“We know that customer demand across different modes of transport will continue to increase, with the transport sector expected to become Australia’s largest source of emissions by 2030,” says Miller.
Charging up Australia’s freight Industry with electric trucks
Here are some key features for ARENA’s latest funding initiative:
- Supporting Electric Truck Projects: ARENA’s focus is on funding impactful electric truck demonstrations and deployments to accelerate EV adoption across all vehicle sizes.
- Charging Solutions for Heavy Vehicles: Funding will also target advanced charging solutions for heavy-duty electric vehicles (EVs), paving the way for wider EV adoption in the freight sector.
- Linfox Receives $19.6 Million Boost: The logistics giant will roll out 26 battery electric trucks and charging stations across three distribution centers in Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria.
- Testing Performance Across Routes: Linfox’s trucks will serve both metropolitan and regional routes over the next three years, aiming to prove the viability of heavy EV trucks over long distances and intense usage.
- Toll’s Project TruckVolt Backed by $9 Million: ARENA will support Toll in deploying 28 battery electric trucks and the necessary infrastructure at 10 sites across Australia, driving further electrification in logistics.
Provide support to businesses to electrify fleets
Miller says supporting both Linfox and Toll to electrify their heavy vehicle fleet is a significant milestone in our goal to decarbonise transport.
“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,” says Miller.
He adds that the Driving the Nation program is about providing support to businesses to electrify their fleets.
NOW READ: Amazon is building its 13th logistics center in Australia
Photo Credit: Canva
Share this article
About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
