Major WA based but national transport and logistics company Centurion has revealed it has gained backing from the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Future Fuels Program that will see the company establish and operate what it claims will be Australia’s first 100 per cent renewable energy off grid battery electric truck fleet.
The Centurion program is worth around $29 million with plans to integrate 30 battery electric trucks into its existing fleet, with power coming from solar generation and off-grid battery energy storage by the end of this year.
ARENA has investment $15.8 millionn in the project with Centurion is installing charging equipment, integrated energy generation and storage infrastructure, at its Hazelmere depot in Perth.
Once they come fully on line there will be 30 Mercedes-Benz eActros electric trucks servicing the wider Perth metro area, supported by four megawatts of rooftop solar, 10 megawatt hours of battery, and 15 dual port slow and fast chargers.
Centurion announced last week that the construction of its off-grid battery electric truck infrastructure project has just commenced installing charging equipment, integrated energy generation and storage infrastructure in the form of solar array and batteries, at its Hazelmere depot in east Perth.
The company has partnered with Cape Dunstans, a provider of material processing, logistics, and infrastructure solutions, to install the equipment which it says marks an important milestone in Australia’s transition towards sustainable logistics and transportation.
Centurion said the economic stability of this project has been made possible through funding from ARENA, and its investment to accelerate Australia’s transition to renewable energy and sustainable heavy transport. The company says that the infrastructure will be built across two locations at the depot, with the North site scheduled for completion in December with electric trucks operating from January next year, while he entire project should be full operation by mid-2025.
Centurion CEO Justin Cardaci said the project represents a significant step in Centurion’s decarbonisation journey and continues its work towards an operational future with net zero emissions.
“Centurion actively seeks to deploy technology where it’s ready to displace the diesel transport equivalent and the ARENA funding certainly helps support the project’s economics,” Cardaci said.
While largely based out of itws HQ in Perth, Centurion is a national operator servicing many resource hubs and remote communities across Australia.
“For most of our operations, the zero emissions heavy transport technology won’t be ready for several years, Cardaci said.
“However, battery electric trucks are now ready for operations across the wider metropolitan area and it’s great that Centurion has the capacity to bring this technology into our fleet,” he said.
“Operating a real zero emissions truck fleet from off grid solar and battery is a significant step in supporting the energy transition,” he Centurion boss continued.
“With more than 2400 employees across Australia, customers from a wide range of sectors, and the multiple communities that rely on our service, it’s important we demonstrate a genuine commitment to sustainable operations and drive decarbonisation projects like this one,” he added.
Centurion says it has worked with ARENA, in collaboration with Daimler Truck, Geniux Cleantech Group, and Switch Batteries, to deliver what it describes as quantifiable emissions reductions, and generate meaningful environmental benefits for Centurion and the broader community.
