AUSTRALIA’S first public electric charging station for trucks has been officially launched, with work on the NewVolt site in Melbourne’s Laverton North now set to begin as part of an electric network covering four states.

The ultra-fast charging station will feature 12 bays each capable of delivering up to 400kW per plug, with two plugs per bay. It will be open 24-hours a day for truck drivers, and features a building with facilities including coffee-making, toilets, a lounge, and Wi-Fi.

NewVolt Infrastructure Pty Ltd said the Laverton North site was the first stage of the network that will grow to have three operational sites by the end of 2027.

NewVolt CEO and co-founder Anthony Headlam

Expansion of the network is then planned along major freight corridors including the Hume Highway, Sydney, Port of Brisbane, Bendigo, and Ballarat.

NewVolt’s network has been co-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) under its ‘Driving the Nation’ program.

ARENA contributed $25.3 million for the first stage that plans fast-charge stations in the key west, north, and south-east areas, respectively Laverton North, Campbellfield, and Dandenong South.

NewVolt CEO and co-founder Anthony Headlam said in a statement that Australia’s road freight industry runs almost entirely on imported diesel and that the fuel costs the economy about $30 billion a year.

“That structural vulnerability has become an acute crisis,” he said.

“As of late March 2026, Australia holds just 30 days of diesel, less than a third of the IEA’s 90-day requirement, with over 100 service stations across New South Wales running dry following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Retired Air Vice-Marshal John Blackburn AO, who has warned of this risk for over a decade, described Australia as ‘sleepwalking into a national crisis’. He is right. 

“While energy security has risen sharply up the national agenda, NewVolt’s position is straightforward – the answer is not another policy paper. It is infrastructure, in the ground, now.

“Every electric truck on Australia’s roads, charging on Australian renewable energy, adds resilience to our supply chains. The NewVolt Network is a foundation for that resilience.”

By 2040, there are up to 60 NewVolt sites planned to link Melbourne with Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide.

Up to eight charging stations are planned in each metropolitan city.

NewVolt said that it saw the potential for the network to support an electric truck fleet big enough to represent half the trucks on those routes. 

The company said that the hubs will provide scheduled, price-certain fast charging — with power up to 400kW per bay with dual-plug capability — purpose-built for heavy and medium commercial trucks rather than adapted from passenger vehicle infrastructure. 

It said it is also exploring the integration of megawatt charging standard (MCS) capability from opening, which would make the NewVolt network one of the first commercial truck charging networks in Australia to offer MCS-ready infrastructure.NewVolt said that its customers would have price-certain access to charging infrastructure which will secure certainty for operators switching from diesel.

It said it was also developing a bundled truck and charging product, enabling operators to access electric trucks and NewVolt network credits as a single, integrated commercial package.

Mr Headlam said this would suit smaller and mid-sized fleets who lack the balance sheet to absorb large capital outlays.

“The goal is to remove every practical obstacle between a freight operator and their first electric truck,” he said.

“The project also includes direct support for between 50 and 100 electric trucks operating heavy freight across greater Melbourne — the largest supported electric truck deployment in Australian history.

“The trucks are available. The business case keeps getting better. What operators have needed is a network they can rely on, and a commercial model that works for them so they can start their transition confidently.”

Importers such as Scania have EV trucks available.

Scania has had its 40G battery-electric prime mover with medium-size cab on trial in Australia for a year and is now on sale.

NewVolt was founded in 2019, before a single commercially viable heavy electric truck was available in Australia.

Co-founders Anthony Headlam, Rainer Knobloch, and Andy Evans said Australia’s “abundant renewable energy resources” could deliver lower cost road freight and energy security for Australia.