EVwire Brief: An electric truck hauled 36 tonnes (79,366 lbs) over 480 km (298 miles) round trip in a single charge, slashing delivery time by 40 minutes. While sustaining 98 km/h (~60 mph) uphill speeds vs diesels’ 85km/h (~53 mph).
Australia’s transport sector is on track to be the nation’s top emitter by 2030, driven by heavy road freight. New Energy Transport, which is a new type of trucking company operating a fully electric fleet of movers, addresses this with a major electric trucking trial and plans for the largest e-trucking hub.
The record-breaking trial haul by New Energy Transport with the 36-tonne mover was done in partnership with poultry logistics firm Multiquip, and completed the 480 km return trip (Picton to Beresfield, Hunter Valley) in a single charge. The truck was from the electric Semi maker Windrose.
Windrose Semi from New Energy Transport
"I was sceptical at the start. I still love proper diesel trucks.
But this thing was light-years ahead. It was significantly faster uphill, kept up with traffic easily, and the torque delivery was immediate. Each direction we saved about 20 minutes compared to our diesel trucks."
New Energy Transport will break ground mid-2026 on a depot in Wilton, south-west Sydney. The depot will be powered by a mix of grid electricity and on-site solar, about 3 to 5 megawatts, with high-powered chargers capable of fully recharging the 600 to 700 kilowatt-hour truck batteries in under an hour.
New Energy Transport is starting with 50 electric prime movers (trucks designed for towing trailers) and plans to expand to 200 vehicles by 2031.
Australia is the world’s second-most road-freight-dependent nation and operates some of the heaviest trucks globally. Electrifying the entire heavy truck fleet would require only ~20% more national electricity, which can be generated locally with renewables, improving resilience against global fuel shocks.
The Wilton trial and the new hub show that, for hub-to-hub routes under 500 km (310 mi), battery-electric trucks already outperform diesel trucks.
Source: ABC News
