Well known toilet paper brand, Who Gives A Crap has proven in an Australian first demonstration for a small to medium size enterprise, that businesses of this size can electrify heavy freight.
Who Gives a Crap partnered with New Energy Transport and truck maker Volvo, to complete a port-to-warehouse run powered only by an electric heavy truck a claimed milestone in making zero-emission freight accessible beyond big corporates.
The company we are sure would like to have said that the run was in real word conditions and not just on paper! Tish-boom.
New Energy Transport reckons the demonstration showed that small-to-medium businesses can be key players in the race to decarbonise the transport industry with mounting pressure for businesses to report on their emissions and layout reduction plans.
Having said that it must be pointed out that the “Australian First” was a meagre one at best.
The trial saw a Volvo FM Electric prime mover complete a loop transporting a 40 ft container from Port Botany to Who Gives A Crap’s Sydney warehouse in Yennora and back, making it a round trip of just 88 kilometres for a total of just 118 minutes of driving time.
According to New Energy the task utilised 34 per cent of the truck’s charge and 120kWh of energy. What the company does not reveal is the gross vehicle mass of the laden electric truck, and one can only imagine that while a shipping container filled with toilet paper would be a large volume the estimated weight of a load of loo paper int eh container is around 26.5 tonnes, give or take. Add in the weight of the container and skell and we would estimate the total weight would have been around 30 tonnes, about ten tonnes shy of what a single semi can gross out at.
Co-founder of New Energy Transport, Daniel Bleakley, said the company was proud to be partnering with Who Gives a Crap who he said are as passionate about electrifying heavy road freight as they are.
“We’re pleased with the results of the demonstration and we’ve proven that we’re able to operate heavy electric trucks for port cartage under the same conditions as diesel trucks, transporting the same payload in the same time across the same route only we can do it with zero emissions, zero pollution and significantly reduced road noise,” Bleakley said.
“This showcased commercial and economic viability, with the trip easily being able to be done a second time on the same charge and with the same productivity as diesel trucks but without the emissions,” he said.
The company points out that transport is set to become Australia’s biggest source of emissions by 2030, and that heavy trucks are responsible for nearly half of road transport pollution.
The company also emphasised that the transport sector is notoriously hard to decarbonise, but that this successful demonstration proves that SMEs don’t need deep pockets or giant fleets to play their part in cutting emissions.
New Energy Transport claims to be Australia’s first zero-emission heavy trucking company, saying that it combines low-cost renewable energy, high-speed charging and electric prime movers to offer its customers zero- emission road freight at no extra cost compared to diesel based freight.
Who Gives A Crap says that with a clear alignment in goals and values, it sees this partnership as the perfect opportunity to drive solutions for overcoming common transport decarbonisation challenges and lead the way for other Aussie SME’s.
“Decarbonising our supply chain has been a key focus for us for several years and by the end of this year, 30 per cent of our outbound orders through ANC will be delivered by EV, supported by new warehouse charging solutions,” said Who Gives A Crap’s head of sustainability, Bernie Wiley,
“This latest pilot takes our ambition to the next level because heavy freight is one of the hardest parts of any supply chain to decarbonise, so we wanted to partner with New Energy to prove it’s not just possible, but practical,” Wiley said
The company says the results have been incredibly promising, and its excited to explore how it can expand electric trucking across its network.
“t’s great to show that when the right technology and partners come together, sustainability doesn’t have to come at the cost of efficiency,” Wiley added.
The company claims the demonstration tested real-world routing, performance, and operational complexities, generating critical insights into what it will take to scale electric freight solutions across Australia.
“It also highlighted that by decarbonising heavy road freight there can not be a significant acceleration in the decarbonisation of the sector, but overall costs can be reduced,” he said.
“The collaboration reinforces Who Gives A Crap’s role as a trailblazer in EV fleet use for smaller enterprises, with the demonstration setting a precedent for democratising access to electric trucking,” he concluded.
