Holcim and Australian owned new energy efficient vehicles distributor Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD) will trial the Foton e-AUMAN C EV concrete truck in Australia.
The Foton EV truck will undergo a six-month trial by Holcim Australia at a remote mine site near Port Hedland in Western Australia.
The trial will enable both parties to test the viability, reliability and performance of the truck under the operating requirements of ready-mix concrete distribution.
“The initiative is aligned to Holcim’s global Accelerating Green Growth strategy,” says Holcim Australia and New Zealand sustainability head Cyril Giraud.
“It serves as a local example of Holcim’s commitment to investing in zero emissions vehicles, thereby helping to reduce environmental impacts while delivering innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers.”
If successful and approved under Australian Design Rules (ADR) for public road use, the trial paves the way for Holcim to deliver its ECOPact low-carbon concrete products more sustainably, further assisting its customers to achieve their own climate targets.
“By replacing one diesel concrete truck with an EV we will eliminate about 42 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each and every year,” says Giraud.
“This equates to a fuel cost saving in excess of A$33,000 per annum, before further savings are extracted via lower service and maintenance costs.”
FMD says it will gain valuable insights into the performance of its larger zero emissions trucks, having already achieved market leadership in the EV light duty truck sector.
“We are looking forward to a successful trial in the harshest operating conditions in Australia, and to the valuable operational data that will enable further improvements to be made to our products,” says FMD chief executive Neil Wang.
“The introduction of the Foton EV concrete truck to the Australian market via this trial is the forerunner of a number of new and exciting Foton New Energy vehicles which will be introduced in 2024 in support of the transition to Net Zero.”
Holcim is accelerating green growth for people and the planet.
“For us, building progress means providing low-carbon products and reducing our operational impact on the environment,” says Giraud.
“Working together with Foton we are providing our customers with more options to help decarbonise the built environment.”
During the past year, Holcim Australia has been actively working towards decarbonising its fleet operations with trials on battery-powered heavy vehicles.
In March 2023, the company partnered with CHL and Janus, successfully completing a zero-emissions electric aggregates truck trial in Queensland.
Then in September, Holcim concluded an eight-week trial of a Liugong 856HE electric front-end loader at its Morwell concrete plant in Victoria.
