AUSTRALIA has plugged into sustainable freight transport with the commissioning this week of two of Australia’s first off-grid, 100 per cent renewable energy battery-electric truck projects.

The $36 million project was delivered by  Centurion Transport in partnership with Daimler Truck, Cape Dunstans, Switch Batteries and BP Australia.

It was made possible through $15.8 million in funding from ARENA under the Future Fuels Program. The partners said it demonstrates how industry collaboration, renewable energy, and innovation can drive  meaningful change in Australia’s transport and logistics sector, reducing emissions while maintaining  operational performance. 

The Centurion Transport depot at the Perth Airport operates two charging sites, named North and South. The North charging site was commissioned in February and the South charging site is now live from this week. The project this week added a further 10 Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 battery-electric trucks to Centurion’s fleet to service the Perth metropolitan area. 

This brings the fleet to 30 electric trucks, all fuelled by onsite green energy.

The South site energy infrastructure includes 2.2MW of rooftop solar, 3.44MWh of battery  storage, 75kW and 150kW chargers, and a back-up generator operating on HVO. 

Total project specifications include 30 eActros 300 battery-electric trucks – 25 rigid trucks and five prime movers using 15 dual-port slow and fast chargers.

Centurion CEO Justin Cardaci

The facility has a fully off-grid charging infrastructure with 4.4MW of rooftop solar, 10.3MWh of battery storage and back-up generation that uses hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

Centurion CEO Justin Cardaci said the project was now fully operational and marked “a significant milestone in progressing our decarbonisation journey.”

“Completing this important  infrastructure milestone and having the full electric truck fleet operational is a great outcome for Centurion,” he said.

“It shows that with the right partnerships and investment, sustainable freight solutions are  achievable today. “We’re not only reducing emissions but also providing electric trucks fuelled by  green energy that can deliver a high-quality reliable service for our customers.” 

Daimler Truck Australia Pacific president and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, congratulated Centurion for bringing the project online.

“We’re thrilled to see 10 more Mercedes-Benz eActros trucks join Centurion’s off-grid solar fleet, joining the 20 units that have already been delivering for customers and producing zero exhaust emissions,” Mr Whitehead said.

“Day one of Centurion’s 30-strong fully-electric eActros truck fleet marks an important milestone for sustainable logistics in Australia. This is a remarkable achievement and I would like to congratulate Justin Cardaci and his team at Centurion for making it a reality.

Mr Cardaci said that the next step for the project was to optimise the integration of the green energy and electric truck fleet into Centurion’s wider operations at the Perth Airport depot. 

“This project will generate  significant learnings, and Centurion in conjunction with ARENA will be seeking to share this knowledge across the industry,” he said.