Leading Perth based national transport and logistics giant, Centurion has commissioned and is now operating a new $30 million electric truck facility at its Perth headquarters, following the completion of a massive roof top solar power system and the acquisition of 30 Mercedes-Benz eActros battery electric trucks for its WA fleet.
The total project includes 30 Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 battery electric trucks – 25 rigid trucks and 5 prime movers, 4.4MW of rooftop solar and 10.3MWh of battery storage. They are charged using 15 dual-port slow and fast chargers, fully off-grid charging infrastructure with backup generation using HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil
Partly financed through grants from the Federal Government’s ARENA ( Australian Renewable Energy Authority), Centurion has made an ambitious start toward decarbonising its fleet and its operation.
The new energy system that powers all its electric trucks is completely off grid establishing a supply of 4.4 megawatts of solar power across its two charging sites within its HQ facility, near Perth airport.
Centurion, which is now one of the largest transport operations in the country and certainly one of the largest privately held transport companies in the business down under, has made an ambitious move with the solar development at its headquarters.
The company has divided the site into two integrated solar operations, the North and South charging hubs, which utilize the two massive separate solar banks that have been installed on the roof tops of two of the company’s warehouses within the facility, both producing 2.2 megawatts of power.
There was an existing 150 megawatts array before the latest project was started, which has been integrated into the system, and feeds the North charging site. The North site boasts a series of 10 Tritium chargers, which supply 20 of its 30 eActros on fleet and is built entirely around overnight charging.
The Centurion North system from its large solar arrays, feeds 6.88 megawatt hours of battery storage at the North charging site. It accumulates the energy from the array and then holds the power in its battery energy store until the trucks return after a day’s operation.
Centurion says that typically the trucks return to the depot with between 20 and 50 per cent charge in their batteries and then charge overnight. When they’re redeployed in the morning on their duty cycle of daytime operations, In round numbers, Centurion says that depending on what level of charge they come back at, they’ll be on charge for about 10 to 11 hours at the most.
When Truck & Bus News visited the Centurion site last week the company had literally just completed the South charging facility that day and commissioned it to meet the requirements of ARENA’s grant protocols,
The Centurion South charging site can service ten trucks at a time with a mix of 75 kilowatt to 150 kilowatt charging stations being fed from a similar size but totally separate 2.2 megawatt solar array.
This week, Centurion commissioned milestone two of Australia’s first fully off-grid, 100 per cent renewable energy, battery electric truck project, marking a major milestone in sustainable freight transport.
Centurion’s North site was commissioned back in February and the commissioning of the South charging site this week, has added a 10 more Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 Battery Electric Trucks to service the Perth metropolitan area. This brings the fleet to 30 electric trucks, all fuelled by onsite green energy supply.
The South site energy infrastructure includes its 2.2MW rooftop solar array, mated to 3.44MWh of battery storage, 75kW and 150kW chargers, and a back-up generator operating on HVO. The project was developed in partnership with ARENA under the Future Fuels Program.
“The project is now fully operational, and it marks a significant milestone in progressing our decarbonisation journey,” said Justin Cardaci, CEO of Centurion.
“Completing this important infrastructure milestone and having the full electric truck fleet operational is a great outcome for Centurion. 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 fueled 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,” 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.”
The $36 million project was delivered in partnership with Daimler Truck, Cape Dunstans, Switch Batteries and BP Australia, and was made possible through $15.8 million in funding from ARENA. This project 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 next step for the project is 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.
