The Albanese Government is providing a $36 million funding boost to the Driving the Nation program, bringing available funding for heavy EV uptake in the logistics and delivery sectors to $100 million.
Transport accounts for one-fifth of Australia’s emissions, with heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses responsible for a quarter of these transport emission, says climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen.
The additional funding reflects a renewed focus for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to help decarbonise Australian transport by encouraging heavy EV adoption and integration including through better charging infrastructure, and innovation as part of Driving the Nation.
Bowen says reducing emissions in trucking means cleaner air and quieter streets.
“We’re working with trucking companies to make it easier to electrify their fleets, so their heavy vehicles are cleaner, quieter, more comfortable to drive, and cheaper to run,” he says.
The new Focus Areas seek projects that support deployment of electric trucks and heavy vehicle charging as well as other advancements that encourage the uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Separately, ARENA has also committed $28.6 million to support electrification projects from Australian logistics companies, Linfox and Toll, says Bowen, adding these grants will unlock more than $124 million in private capital to reduce emissions across these national carriers.
Linfox will use a $19.6 million grant to help roll out 26 BEV trucks across three of its distribution centres in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, building supporting charging infrastructure at the sites, he says.
Bowen says Toll will use a $9 million grant to deploy 28 BEV trucks and construct supporting charging infrastructure at 10 sites across Australia.
