More electric trucks will be rolling out onto Sydney streets within weeks, following the completion of Janus Electric’s first solar-powered Charge and Change Station at the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct.
The new facility gives electric trucks, produced by Janus Electric on the Central Coast, the ability to swap the two-metre by 1.2 metre batteries for fully charged batteries, and head off on their run.
The quick swap takes just four minutes – less time than it takes to refuel. A truck with a single trailer can generally travel between 300 to 400km on a single battery, with battery swapping stations strategically located, to keep trucks on the move.
It’s the first facility of its kind to be built at an intermodal terminal where freight is swapped between roads and rail. There are eight other Charge and Change stations across Australia, with more on the way.
Janus Electric’s battery-swapping technology allows for the batteries to be powered by rooftop solar energy, minimising wait times for drivers and ready to be picked up by the next electric truck to visit the Charge and Change Station.
NZ Logger recently covered an update on Australia’s first electric logging truck being run by Fennell Forestry with the help of Janus Electric.
The investment in the new facility follows the New South Wales (NSW) Government’s introduction of the Towards Net Zero Emissions Freight Policy which outlines Government and industry actions that will reduce the carbon footprint of heavy vehicles and rail freight.
A key step in delivering the policy, extra-mass provisions for access to state roads, means electric trucks – like trucks from Janus Electric – can be used across the state without sacrificing cargo quantities.
New modelling shows freight transport and logistics contributed an estimated $74.3 billion to NSW in 2022-23, with the sector predicted to grow to an estimated $131.5 billion by 2060-61.
“Freight demand is projected to rise by 34% across NSW from 2021 to 2061. We’re going to need more capacity, not less, which is why we’re working on a plan with the freight industry to get us to net zero,” says NSW Minister for Transport, Jo Haylen.
"Many freight operators are natural innovators and are already investing in low emission technologies. The NSW Government’s Zero Emissions Freight Policy means that the government is supporting industry and helping them invest in new and exciting technologies across the state and at key freight centres like Moorebank.”
