A REFOCUS on electric vehicles in March has sparked further interest in the EV use in the heavy transport industry, with Australian conversion company Janus Electric this week announcing the launch of its first South Australian conversion centre.

In partnership with Archer Heavy Equipment, the latest centre is Janus’ start of an Australia-wide rollout of its heavy-vehicle electrification platform.

Janus said the Archer facility will be its first dealer-led conversion centre in Australia. It will complement Archer’s existing HQ operations in Fountaindale, NSW, and expand national capacity to convert diesel trucks to electric drivetrains.

Archer’s initial capacity is expected to reach about 50 truck conversions in the first year, with plans to scale to 150-200 conversions annually as demand builds.

Janus said that the milestone “signals a shift from early-stage deployment to a distributed, dealer-led national conversion network”.

“Janus Electric is currently in discussions with partners across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, with additional dealership agreements expected before year-end,” it said.

Jared Archer, Managing Director of Archer Heavy Equipment & Archer Retail Group

“At initial rollout, the dealer network is expected to deliver conversion capacity of at least 250 trucks per annum, establishing the foundation for scaled electrification of Australia’s heavy vehicle fleet.”

The company said that by combining vehicle conversion, battery infrastructure and dealership rollout into a unified platform the company was “positioning for national-scale deployment aligned with emerging government funding priorities, rather than fragmented, single-asset projects”.

Janus Electric CEO Ben Hutt said further targeted incentives and coordinated investment will be critical to unlocking industry-wide adoption.

Janus Electric CEO Ben Hutt

“This is a genuine inflection point. We’re now building the infrastructure and capacity to electrify heavy transport at scale and in real operating environments,” he said.

“The demand is growing every day, and the economics are increasingly compelling, but even with conversion costs significantly below new electric trucks, these are still meaningful upfront investments for operators already under pressure from energy costs.

“What’s needed now is the catalyst of government support. Targeted government incentives, aligned across federal and state levels, would accelerate uptake materially and get more electric trucks on the road, faster.”

He said that the Archer facility and the additional Janus Electric facilities will provide fleet operators with a commercially viable alternative to full vehicle replacement, integrating electric drivetrain conversion, swappable battery systems and rapid deployment timelines.

“This approach enables operators to reduce fuel costs, lower maintenance requirements and avoid the capital intensity of new electric truck purchases,” he said.

“Heavy transport remains one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, with limited commercially viable pathways available at scale today, reinforcing the importance of practical, deployable solutions.”

Archer Heavy Equipment managing director Jared Archer said his business was seeing strong demand from the Adelaide carrier community to convert diesel trucks to electric. 

“Operators can see the cost savings and the operational benefits, and many are ready to convert immediately,” he said.

“We now have the technical capabilities and support in place to make this happen.

Janus Electric COO, Lex Forsyth

“South Australia presents a compelling environment for heavy vehicle electrification, underpinned by one of the highest penetrations of renewable energy in the grid globally.”

Freight currently consumes around 30 per cent of Australia’s diesel, leaving the sector highly exposed to fuel price volatility and supply chain disruption. Electrification presents a structural pathway to reduce that exposure at scale.

Current programs such as ARENA’s Driving the Nation are an important step, but are increasingly favouring networked, shared infrastructure models, reinforcing the need for coordinated, national-scale deployment rather than isolated projects.

Janus said its swappable battery model was ideal to this energy profile as batteries can be charged during periods of high renewable generation, stored energy can be deployed efficiently across freight operations and battery infrastructure can contribute to grid stability and energy balancing.

It said that the common perception that charging infrastructure is a constraint was often overstated. 

“About 80 per cent of Australian heavy vehicles operate less than 200km per day on repeat routes, making them well suited to depot-based charging and battery swap models,” the company said.

“In high-renewable grids such as South Australia, this model allows transport demand to act as a flexible load, improving utilisation of renewable generation while supporting grid stability.

“This creates a dual benefit of significantly lowering operating costs for fleet operators (estimated 30–60 per cent reduction in energy costs) and improving utilisation of renewable energy at a system level.”

Janus Electric, founded by current COO Lex Forsyth – from the longstanding family business Forsyth Transport – and since expanded into the US, has converted 28 trucks to date and completed 3600 battery swaps.

The company has secured its first Californian government incentives for vehicle conversions, of $US90,000 to $US120,000 per truck, to accelerate transition and valid Janus’ technology eligibility under one of California’s flagship decarbonisation incentive programs.