EVwire brief: New Energy Transport (NET) has closed an initial AU$5 million (USD3.5 million) equity raise to put its first electric trucks on Australian roads before the end of 2026.
The round was led by Sydney cleantech investor Jekara Group, alongside family offices, high-net-worth backers, and net-zero advisory firm Pollination. A further raise is expected as NET heads toward a Series A.
The capital funds NET's first commercial operation, the Rapid Deployment Project. The initiative will put 20 electric prime movers and six mobile ultra-fast charging units to work on New South Wales freight corridors before the end of 2026.
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“We've seen a surge in demand from some of Australia's largest transport buyers and this backing means we can meet that demand by providing reliable electric road freight in Australia before the end of the year.”
New Energy Transport Co-CEOs Daniel Bleakley and Fredrik Pehrsson and Jekara Group's Kara Frederick, with a render of NET’s Wilton depot
NET describes itself as Australia's first vertically integrated electric freight platform, which is why it is solving the charging problem alongside the trucks. Each mobile unit pairs a 640 kW charger with a 125 kW battery, sits on a frame rather than fixed foundations, and can be redeployed to new corridors as routes open up.
The six units will initially sit at NET's planned Wilton depot for a combined output of up to 2 MW, and the company says they can be running within 16 weeks.
The Rapid Deployment Project is NET's step from one-off demonstrations to a standing commercial fleet. The trucks will run the Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Yass and Canberra corridors, among the busiest freight routes in the country, with regional centres such as Griffith and Wagga to follow.
Mobile chargers will be key to NET’s expansion plans
Context:
NET has not named the supplier of the 20 prime movers, and the order may not run to a single badge. A Volvo prime mover is due to be revealed for the company's first customer in the coming weeks.
The strongest public signal still points to Windrose: the long-haul electric truck maker appears on NET's own supplier map, and NET ran its record-setting 480 km single-charge demonstration on a Windrose prime mover. Not to mention the truck model visible on the table on the image above. How the 20 units split between suppliers is, for now, just our read rather than a confirmed split.
Co-CEO Daniel Bleakley told The Driven that corporate interest in electric prime movers is accelerating as logistics firms weigh the state of the global oil market and what it means for diesel supply in Australia. NET says the 20 trucks will move more than 10,000 km (about 6,200 miles) of freight a day and displace 2.5 million litres of diesel a year, roughly 660,000 US gallons.
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