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Multiquip has teamed with New Energy Transport (NET) and Chinese truck maker Windrose to complete what is being billed as the longest single-charge electric truck delivery ever conducted in Australia.
The 480km round-trip included a 36-tonne GCM delivery leg from Multiquip’s Picton site (80km south of Sydney) to Beresfield, just outside Newcastle, and a return leg with an empty trailer.
In addition to completing the delivery with zero emissions, the stakeholders said the electric prime mover was able to reduce the total trip time by 20 minutes each way compared with the diesel equivalent.
The Windrose electric truck was able to hold an average speed of around 98km/h versus 85km/h for a diesel truck over the same route because it was able to maintain the speed limit going up hills.
“Timing is a huge factor for any business, particularly a just-in-time business like ours,” said Multiquip’s National Compliance Manager David Muir.
“It was very surprising for us to see just how much time he was able to save with the vehicle being able to maintain that speed over distance.
“I was frankly quite shocked. Constantly being able to maintain that speed is amazing.”
The demonstration was part of a Memorandum of Understanding between NET and Multiquip to explore joint opportunities to deploy electric trucks into Multiquip’s supply chain and accelerate the transition to sustainable road freight.
NET said it plans to establish a pilot fleet of heavy electric trucks in Wilton, south-west of Sydney, by the middle of 2026.
The company says it will be Australia’s largest electric trucking depot.
The site will initially house up to 50 heavy electric prime movers, with plans to grow the fleet to 200 vehicles by 2031.
“New Energy Transport is a new kind of trucking company,” said NET Co-CEO Daniel Bleakley.
“By combining low-cost renewable energy, high-speed charging and electric prime movers, New Energy Transport offers zero-emission road freight at diesel-based prices.”
NET Co-CEO Fredrik Pehrsson, a former head of innovation at the Swedish truck manufacturing giant Scania, said that electric heavy trucks can match and even exceeding diesel truck productivity.
“The demonstration shows that it’s not only possible to cut away the greenhouse gases for Multiquip in this particular operation, we also saw that we could actually reach their destination quicker than they normally do with a diesel truck.” Pehrsson said.
