New funding will see EVs used for supermarket delivery services in Sydney.

A new initiative, which is a first for Australia, involves the construction of a charging hub for battery electric vehicle (BEV) trucks to serve the city’s grocery delivery sector.

Global fleet electrification company Zenobē has been granted $8.5 million from the Driving the Nation Fund to establish the hub. 

The project, which is located in Mascot, New South Wales, will support a fleet of BEV trucks leased to Woolworths under an business model that promotes electrification as a service (EVaaS) for delivery trucks.

The charging facility, valued at $19 million, will feature 22 dual-port chargers, smart charging software, and battery storage using repurposed EV batteries. 

It will be capable of charging 60 trucks, which Woolworths will use for its home delivery services. 

The hub also has room to expand to accommodate more trucks, providing a multi-user facility for the sector.

“Green finance is key to unlocking flagship projects like this, accelerating the decarbonisation of transport,” Zenobē Director Nicholas Beatty said. 

“Collaboration remains key and, together with [the Australian Renewable Energy Agency] and Woolworths, we are showing that the truck sector can electrify today.”

ARENA CEO Darren Miller underscored the importance of the initiative, particularly in terms of reducing transport emissions, which make up 20 per cent of Australia’s overall emissions.

“As customers become more used to having their groceries delivered, it makes sense to find renewable energy solutions to do so,” Mr Miller said.

Zenobē’s electric vehicle as a service model (EVaaS) is designed to help businesses bypass the financial and logistical hurdles associated with electrifying their fleets. 

The initiative is expected to demonstrate the viability of integrating BEVs into grocery delivery fleets, reducing emissions from the high-emission transport sector. 

Construction on the charging hub is scheduled to begin in September 2024, with completion expected by early 2025. 

This project follows a previous collaboration between ARENA and Zenobē in 2021, where ARENA contributed $5 million to the development of a $37.2 million electric bus depot in Leichhardt, NSW. 

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