Western Australia-headquartered trucking company Centurion confirmed it has commissioned a second fully off-grid electric vehicle (EV) charging station at its Perth Airport depot as part of a $36 million (USD 23.44 million) project that has seen 30 battery electric trucks added to its fleet.
The new South charging site includes five dual-port EV chargers featuring 75 kW and 150 kW chargers. These are powered by a new 2.2 MW rooftop solar system and 3.44 MWh battery energy storage solution. The site energy infrastructure also includes a backup generator operating on hydrotreated vegetable oil.
The commissioning of the South charging site comes after the North station was activated at the depot earlier this year. Together, the two stations deliver 15 dual-port slow and fast chargers, a combined 4.4 MW of solar generation, and 10.3 MWh of battery energy storage capacity.
The charging stations are being used to fuel the company’s fleet of 30 Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 electric trucks that service the Perth metropolitan area. The eActros trucks utilise three lithium-ion battery packs with 336 kWh capacity and a range of 300 kilometres. Using a 150 kW charger, the trucks can charge from 20% to 80% in 75 minutes.
Centurion Chief Executive Officer Justin Cardaci said the project shows that sustainable freight solutions are achievable today and that renewable energy and innovation can drive meaningful change in Australia’s transport and logistics sector, which is one of the nation’s largest sources of carbon emissions.
“The project is now fully operational, and it marks a significant milestone in progressing our decarbonisation journey,” he said. “We’re not only reducing emissions but also providing electric trucks fuelled by green energy that can deliver a high-quality reliable service for our customers.”
Cardaci said the next step for the project is to optimise the integration of the renewable energy and electric truck fleet into Centurion’s wider operations.
The project was supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) through $15.8 million in funding under the Future Fuels Program.
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