Australia: Linfox and Toll bag funding from the Driving the Nation Fund programme

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is committing 100 million Australian dollars to the ‘Driving the Nation Program’ for the focus areas “Trucks, Charging and Innovation.” Part of the funding has already been earmarked, as ARENA has pledged $28.6 million to two projects.

volvo fm electric e lkw electric truck neues format 2021 — Image: Volvo Trucks

A total of $19.6 million was awarded to Linfox to deploy 26 battery electric trucks and charging infrastructure across three distribution centres in Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria. The remaining 9 million AUD (about 5.5 million euros) will be awarded to Toll to support Toll’s ‘Project TruckVolt.’

As part of the project, Toll will invest $67 million (41.4 million euros) to put 28 battery-electric trucks on the road and in the required infrastructure at ten customer and Toll-owned sites across the country. Specifically, the company will deploy ten Volvo FM Electric prime movers and 18 Volvo FE electric rigids. It also aims to integrate battery-electric vehicles into third-party logistics operations servicing key customers, including Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Woolworths, Bluescope and Origin Energy.

The funds now committed by ARENA will serve three priority areas to support the electrification of the freight transportation industry in Australia, namely “to support demonstration and deployment of heavy vehicles, charging solutions and other innovation supporting uptake of BEVs.”

“The heavy transport sector has an important role in reducing the environmental impact of moving goods. The heavy vehicle market has matured significantly over the past year to battery electric vehicles, particularly vehicle availability and infrastructure,” ARENA CEO Darren Miller remarked. He added: “Supporting both Linfox and Toll to electrify their heavy vehicle fleet is a significant milestone in our goal to decarbonise transport. By transitioning to electric vehicles, not only are these companies able to reduce their carbon footprint, but it also sets a new standard for sustainability in freight.”

Since its inception in 2022, the ‘Driving the Nation Fund’ from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has been geared towards investing in cheaper and cleaner transport by supporting initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. According to ARENA, heavy-goods transports account for about one-fifth of CO2 emissions. Applications to new focus areas are now open.

arena.gov.au (programme), arena.gov.au (funding announcement), mhdsupplychain.com.au