Toll Group has announced it will will invest $67 million in the roll-out and running of 28 battery electric heavy vehicles, along with the establishment of at least 30 new charging ports across eight customer sites and two Toll facilities, as part of the company’s commitment to decarbonising its transport logistics operations.
Toll said the investment will add 10 Volvo FM electric prime movers and 18 Volvo FE electric rigids to Toll’s fleet, with an upfront capital expenditure of a claimed $20.3 million.
The Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Agency ARENA has apparemtly committed $9 million to the project under its Driving the Nation Program, representing a significant portion of the incremental cost between acquiring and operating electric versus diesel vehicles.
Toll says that the fleet of battery electric vehicles will be integrated into its third-party logistics operations servicing key customers including Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Woolworths, Bluescope and Origin Energy. Toll says that it will become the largest operator of battery electric heavy vehicles on behalf of Australia’s third-party logistics sector asa. result of adding the electric trucks.
The company expects the roll-out with customers will commence from February next year and the company claims it is projected to abate 1,810 tonnes of CO2emissions per annum from its total fleet emissions.
Toll Group managing director, Alan Beacham said the project was one of the largest corporate investments in heavy electric vehicles in Australia, putting Toll at the forefront of the country’s logistics decarbonisation efforts.
“The funding from ARENA supports an important part of our broader strategy to optimise the environmental sustainability of our operations, and we’re delighted to be supporting our customers through a shared commitment to decarbonising their supply chains without needing to rely solely on carbon offsets”, he said.
“We’re excited at the prospect of expanding electrification across a larger portion of our fleet over time”, Beacham concluded.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the heavy transport sector has an important role to play in reducing the environmental impact of moving goods.
“The heavy vehicle market has matured significantly over the past year in relation to battery electric vehicles, particularly vehicle availability and infrastructure,”
“However, there are still significant hurdles including upfront costs for operators, challenges with charging technology and infrastructure, as well as the lack of real-world data.”
“Transport accounts for about one-fifth of Australia’s CO2 emissions, with heavy vehicles a significant share of the transport emissions pool, emphasising why ARENA is focusing in this area of greatest impact” Mr Miller said.
“We know that customer demand across different modes of transport will continue to increase, with the transport sector expected to become Australia’s largest source of emissions by 2030,” Miller said.
Toll claims the project will provide critical insights into the integration of electric trucks within its logistics operations, including energy requirements for charging and operational considerations such as route planning, payload, and duty cycle management.
Toll says it plans to co-draft a report with RMIT University to assess the project’s outcomes, and will be shared with industry peers to advance the sector’s understanding of heavy vehicle electrification.
Allan Beacham said that Toll was also making significant investments in fuel-efficient models as part of its decarbonisation strategy.
“Our Australian fleet is undergoing a major transformation, and while we’re committed to electrification, we’re also investing over $200 million to upgrade 25 per cent of our fleet with more fuel-efficient vehicles, delivering emissions reductions of 5-10 per cent,” said Beacham.
“Fully transitioning to electric isn’t feasible overnight, but by combining electrification with these more efficient models, we’re doing everything we can to reduce our environmental impact and support our customers.,” he concluded.
