Transport is emerging as one of Australia's most significant challenges in reducing carbon emissions. Currently, it ranks as the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country and is projected to become the highest-emitting sector by 2030, as emissions from electricity generation decline. According to projections from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, transport emissions are expected to rise slightly until 2030, while emissions from other sectors are anticipated to decrease. Heavy road freight is a major contributor to this trend.

"Australia is an extremely road freight-dependent country," said Daniel Bleakley, co-chief executive and co-founder of New Energy Transport. "We're the second-most road-freight-dependent country in the world after the United States, and we also have the heaviest trucks in the world. If we can decarbonize heavy freight, we can make a huge impact on reducing transport emissions overall."

New Energy Transport plans to launch a pilot fleet of heavy electric trucks in Wilton, located southwest of Sydney, by mid-2026. The company aims to establish Australia's largest electric trucking depot at this site, which will initially accommodate up to 50 heavy electric prime movers, with plans to expand the fleet to 200 vehicles by 2031.

The depot will be strategically located along the Hume Highway, Australia's busiest freight route. "It's a fantastic location because we've got good access to the Hume Highway and down to the Illawarra," Bleakley noted. He added that approximately 5,000 trucks travel Picton Road to the Illawarra daily, along with about 3,800 heavy trucks on the Hume Highway. "We're positioning ourselves right in the middle of this extremely dense freight corridor."

The depot will utilize a combination of grid electricity and on-site solar power, generating about 3 to 5 megawatts. It will feature high-powered chargers capable of fully recharging the trucks' 600 to 700 kilowatt-hour batteries in under an hour. "If we can run these electric trucks on low-cost renewable energy, we can reduce both emissions and the cost of heavy road freight," Bleakley said.

Recently, New Energy Transport conducted what it believes to be the longest single-charge electric truck delivery in Australia. In collaboration with Multiquip, a major poultry transport and logistics company, they operated a 36-tonne electric prime mover on a round trip from Picton to Beresfield in the Hunter region, covering about 480 kilometers on a single charge.

David Muir, Multiquip's national compliance manager, expressed his initial skepticism but was impressed by the results. "I was skeptical at the start. I still love proper diesel trucks," he said. "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."

Muir noted that the electric truck not only matched diesel in terms of range and cost but also provided unexpected benefits. "It was extremely quiet, and the driver said it was just so easy to drive. Less noise, less vibration, no exhaust fumes, it's a far better environment for drivers. They were able to arrive at their destination still feeling pretty fresh."

He concluded that the trial demonstrated that electric trucks could already compete for hub-to-hub freight within a few hundred kilometers. "The electricity it used compared to diesel was a fraction. It's early days, and infrastructure is the big challenge, but what we've seen so far is very promising."

Bleakley believes that the challenges of transitioning to electric trucks are manageable and that regional Australia could lead the way in achieving a zero-emission freight future. "If we transition the entire truck fleet to electric, we'll need about 20 percent more electricity nationally," he said. "But unlike diesel, that energy can be produced locally from renewables. That means we can make our freight network more resilient, cut costs, and keep food and goods moving even if global fuel supplies are disrupted."