A company which provides refrigerated trailer solutions to the transport industry, Protran has announced that its has supplied a battery-electric solar charged refrigerated trailer to major national freight operator Wickham Freight Lines.
Protrans claims that Wickham has become the first business in the country to purchase its Sunswap Endurance trailer unit which it says promises to transform cold chain logistics across the nation.
The company claims Wickham’s purchase is a significant milestone in this country’s transition toward zero-emission freight transport and that it helps the company stake its claim as an industry pioneer committed to a greener, smarter future.
Protrans Solutions says that Wickham is a seasoned, no nonsense freight operator and that it has made a commercial purchase of the Sunswap Endurance trailer following a real-world test from Sydney to Brisbane and return.
The company claims that this Sydney to Brisbane test saw the trailer cover 1,671km over 32hrs and that it still had 67 per cent of its battery capacity remaining following the journey.
Wickham Freight Lines’ director Graham Keogh said the purschase followed the field testing, which outlined the technology’s reliability and performance across real-world Australian operating conditions and added that the results spoke for themselves.
“I put the Sunswap Endurance into the fleet and told the team to stretch it treat it as a normal unit, and we were genuinely impressed, so I’m a true believer, love the technology and I’m not a true tech person whatsoever, you can just see that it’s a winner,” said Keogh.
“For a business like ours running a large fleet across the east coast, and with a heavy focus on refrigerated and cold chain freight this technology makes real commercial sense, the performance, reliability and operational savings were beyond what we expected,”he said.
“We’re proud to be the first in Australia to commit to it, and we see this as the beginning of a broader shift in how we power our fleet,” he added.
Managing director of Protran Solutions, Grant Turner, said the field trial validated everything the team had set out to prove and then some.
“Partnering with Wickham Freight Lines to deliver Australia’s very first Sunswap Endurance Unit is a proud moment for the entire Protran Solutions team and Wickhams is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, family-driven business that understands the long-term value of investing in sustainable technology,” Turner said.
“Its field testing was thorough and demanding, which is precisely what a technology like this deserves, and to have them commit to purchase after that process is the strongest possible endorsement, so we look forward to supporting them and to growing the Sunswap Endurance fleet right across Australia,” Turner added.
Turner said having Wickham Freight Lines as Australia’s first Sunswap Endurance customer speaks volumes about the credibility of both the technology and the relationship.
Wickham Freight Lines has been delivering freight along Australia’s east coast for more than three decades., and the company built its reputation on reliability, safety and service and it protects that reputation carefully, so investing in new technology is never taken lightly,” turner said.
Graham Keogh said the trial results left no room for hesitation.
“We run a serious operation, refrigerated freight, long-distance runs, customers who rely on us to deliver on time and on temperature., and before we put any new technology into our fleet, we test it properly, so the Sunswap Endurance Unit passed every test we threw at it,” Keogh said.
“The energy savings are real, the cold chain performance is exactly what our customers expect and completing that kind of distance with more than half the battery still in reserve tells you everything about the reliability of this system,” he added.
“We genuinely believe this is where the industry is heading, and we want to lead the way.”
According to Protrans its Sunswap Endurance unit is a purpose-built, industrial-grade battery-electric refrigeration system designed from the ground up to operate independently of diesel power, e-axles, and truck-derived electrical systems.
The trailer unit is fitted with integrated solar panels that replenish the battery continuously during daylight operation, while the high-capacity battery bank ensures uninterrupted performance through overnight transits, loading dock wait times, and extended runs where sun isn’t always available.
Protrans claims that , the commercial case is compelling for Australian cold chain operators, eliminating refrigeration fuel costs, significantly reducing maintenance complexity, eliminating diesel engine service, with no fuel filters or exhaust systems to worry about.
It also points out that the unit operates quietly enough for noise-sensitive urban areas and overnight delivery windows.
