An Australian company claims it has completed the world’s longest zero-emission, solar-charged refrigerated transport journey, covering 1,671kilometres between Sydney and Brisbane return.
The company ProTran Solutions claims the achievement marks a significant milestone in sustainable cold chain logistics, with the B-Double configuration’s 22 pallet tag with the tag trailer operating entirely on battery-electric power replenished by solar energy.
ProTran says the real-world trial demonstrated exceptional performance over 32 hours of continuous operation, transporting temperature-sensitive freight including chilled eggs at 11°C) and frozen meat at minus 2°C, without any external power input from the truck, trailer, or grid infrastructure.
The company partnered with the Sunswap Endurance system, which it claims delivered outstanding results and set a new benchmark for sustainable refrigerated transport:
The company emphasised that it used 100 per cent solar and battery operation , with zero diesel consumption used for the refrigeration system.
The trial used a total of 85.9 kWh of energy used, with 27 kWh coming from the battery and 58.9 kWh generated by solar
The use of the solar power meant according to ProTran that it conserved 64 litres of diesel and avoided 172 kg of CO₂ emissions, which it says is the equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of eight trees
The company claims that 62 per cent of its battery capacity remained at the end of the trial trip , despite the fact that it successfully operated overnight and in the early morning with seven hours operating with no solar input.
The company claims that no power was sourced from the truck or trailer systems, either the e-PTO or e-axle and that no plug-in “shore” power was required.
General manager of Protran Solutions, Grant Turner, said he was enthusiastic about the trial outcomes.
“These field-testing results have proven what we wanted to validate in terms of cold chain capabilities for solar-powered refrigerated transport for depot-to-depot operations,” said Turner.
“The Sunswap Endurance system has proven it can handle the Sydney-Brisbane return route while maintaining precise temperature control for frozen and chilled freight types, all without consuming a single drop of diesel for refrigeration.” Turner added.
“What’s particularly impressive to our trial partner was the system’s performance during overnight operations when there’s no solar generation and significant parts of the trip had rain as opposed to sun,” he said.
“The battery reserves and energy efficiency meant that the rig completed the entire journey using just 28 per cent which is remarkable,” Turner said.
“This gives operators genuine confidence in the technology’s reliability and opens up new possibilities for sustainable logistics within the cold chain sector”.
The company said the trial route encompassed diverse operating conditions, including a 13-hour loaded journey with chilled eggs during an overnight run, followed by a 19-hour frozen meat transport that concluded with unloading at 2am , which it says demonstrates the system’s versatility across temperature ranges and operating schedules.
