Electric road freight company New Energy Transport (NET) has secured funding to fast-track the electrification of Australian road freight with its first electric trucks expected to be operational before the end of 2026.
A pioneering modular approach to road freight electrification will accelerate the company’s path to market, providing large transport buyers reliable, cost-effective, and all-electric road freight.
The plan will see NET invest in 20 new electric prime movers supported by six mobile ultra-fast charging units strategically placed on heavy road freight corridors throughout NSW.
Related article: Optimised prime: Ausgrid trials heavy electric freight mover
NET has unlocked an initial $5 million in funding and is expected to attract further investment as the company scales. The equity raise was backed by institutional investor Jekara Group and facilitated by net zero advisory firm Pollination.
New Energy Transport co-CEO Daniel Bleakley said, “We’re excited to be announcing this investment and the rollout of our rapid deployment plan. We’ve seen a surge in demand from some of Australia’s largest transport buyers and this backing means we can meet that demand by providing reliable electric road freight in Australia before the end of the year.
“The modular and mobile charging units we’ve selected aren’t fixed to the ground, they sit on a frame, plug into the grid and are ready for commercial operation within weeks. This technological solution means the charging units can be redeployed to new locations in the future to enable NET to service new corridors including into regional and rural Australia.
This is an additional, flexible capability that supports our plans to build Australia’s largest heavy electric trucking depot and connect the entire east coast road freight corridor in the next five years.”
NET is building Australia’s first vertically integrated electric freight platform. The centrepiece is Australia’s largest planned heavy electric trucking depot at Wilton in NSW, recently selected under the Federal Government’s Investor Front Door program as a project of national significance.
Anchoring freight corridors between Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Canberra, the Wilton depot is expected to be operational in late 2027 with initial capacity for 50 trucks expanding to 200 over time. NET is also progressing plans for a network of electric road freight depots connecting Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane by 2031.
Related article: NewVolt to build charging network for electric trucks
NET’s accelerated plans build momentum toward this vision, allowing the company to establish commercial operation and performance data to inform expansion. The modular and mobile chargers can be operational within 16 weeks, with the 20 electric trucks capable of delivering 10,000km of fully loaded line haul freight capacity per day, saving 2.5 million litres of diesel per year.
The innovative modular charging approach can help address Australia’s immediate fuel security challenges while also extending the operational range of electric trucks into regional Australia.
