A 480-kilometre round trip from Picton to Beresfield in New South Wales hauling 36 tonnes using an electric Windrose truck has been hailed as the “longest single-charge heavy road freight delivery in Australia”.
The trial was conducted as part of a partnership between New Energy Transport, Multiquip and Windrose and comes on the back of New Energy Transport announcing it will build the country’s largest heavy electric trucking depot near Wilton, south-west of Sydney.
New Energy Transport C0-CEO Daniel Bleakley says the trial showed what was possible with heavy electric vehicles.
“We’re incredibly proud to be working with Multiquip to demonstrate the awesome capabilities of heavy electric trucks,” he says.
“This is the longest single-charge electric trucking demonstration in Australia to date.
“The successful journey proves that it’s possible to do zero-emission road freight in a cost competitive way while improving productivity and performance outcomes when compared to diesel-based freight.”
The results of the trial, as reported by New Energy Transport found the Windrose electric prime mover cut the round-trip journey time between Multiquip’s Picton and Beresfield facilities by 40 minutes, representing a 12 per cent time saving.
The electric truck’s ability to sustain high speeds when travelling uphill was key to the improved delivery time with Multiquip reporting its average highway speed for a diesel-powered delivery on the route as 85km/h, while the Windrose electric truck was able to deliver an average speed of 98 km/h.
Windrose Australia Director Business Development James Walmsley says it was a great opportunity to have the truck’s ability put on show in Australia.
“Although new to Australia, Windrose trucks have been servicing duty cycles of over 1,000kms a day, six days a week month after month in other markets, so it’s great to see the long-range capability being tested locally,” Walmsley says.
“We’ve achieved a range of 670km at 49 tonne and 750km at 31 tonne overseas, now it’s Australia’s turn to set some records.”
The trial is the latest in the evolution of the business development of New Energy Transport which says it is in advanced negotiations with private and public investors after signing six MoU agreements with transport buyers and partners keen to utilise the company’s 100 per cent zero-emission electric road freight.
The company’s charging site near Wilton is expected to support up to 50 heavy electric trucks and service freight corridors between Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra.
New Energy Transport Co-CEO Fredrik Pehrsson says the company plans to continue to build its own charging infrastructure and expand its operations to service routes between Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane by 2031.
“There’s a lot of possibilities coming with electrification and we’re excited about what is to come,” Pehrsson says.
“Our vision is based on also being able to deliver our own charging infrastructure, which is why New Energy Transport is also securing this in the back end of our operation.
“So we’re building our own charging infrastructure to support our own electric heavy prime movers for our customers.”