Source : Perth Now news
Swapping heavy duty diesel trucks for electric prime movers can be a complicated journey but a local start-up is offering to navigate the twists and turns for the freight industry.
Australian based Eco Route Advisory appeared at TruckShowX in the NSW Hunter Valley on Tuesday, seeking candidates to test its electric truck technology.
Its appearance comes after the company secured a $440,000 grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and as interest in low-emission haulage spikes alongside the price of fuel.
Heavy vehicles make up four per cent of Australia’s vehicle fleet but contribute 25 per cent of its pollution, according to government estimates.
More companies are curious about trading large diesel trucks for electric models to reduce pollution and running costs, Eco Route founder Marceline Overduin said, but the path is often unclear.
“There’s ambiguity around how far an electric truck will actually go, and it’s often because the actual range is different to what the manufacturers publish in their nice, shiny brochures,” she told AAP.
“We do feasibility assessments within minutes, figuring out how far a truck can go, where they’re charging, how much they’re charging, how long their dwell time is going to be.”
Variables factored into the calculation include a truck’s freight, the charge and age of its battery, the incline of its route, speed limits, and fatigue management for the driver.
The physics of five electric truck brands, including Windrose and Janus, were also included in the model for accuracy, Ms Overduin said, which had been validated against real-world journeys.
Using the model could cut costs as well as time when considering electric truck purchases, she said.
“A live trial of two weeks will usually cost an operator around $20,000 but the tool for one journey is a fraction of that,” she said.
“My saying is insight before investment – you should know if it’s going to work before you sign the piece of paper that binds you.”
Electric truck projections would also be useful for charging operators and government departments, ARENA transport general manager Alex Grant said, as they needed more information about where to place charging stations.
The agency awarded the $440,000 grant to the firm under its Advancing Renewables Program, which Mr Grant said recognised its potential impact.
“This tool is a very scalable model for government, for industry, for operators,” he said.
“It’ll give infrastructure planners good data to be able to map out what their processes look like and how they need to go about rolling out a backbone. It’s arrived just at the right time.”
Other electric truck initiatives in Australia include plans for a low-emission freight corridor in south-west Sydney by New Energy Transport, and Volvo’s commitment to manufacturing electric trucks in Brisbane.
