The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has released the Electrifying Road Freight report – Australia’s first national blueprint for transitioning heavy vehicles to battery-electric.
In 2024, ARENA engaged AECOM to produce the Electrifying Road Freight report, examining how Australia’s infrastructure must evolve to support the shift to battery-electric freight vehicles (BEVs). The report analyses energy demand, charging needs, and the broader systems required to enable this transition.
This report examines the challenges of transitioning road freight to battery-electric vehicles, analysing market conditions, technology trends, key use cases, energy demand, and the impacts on future energy supply.
The report found that urban freight offers the most immediate opportunity for electrification, and that electricity generation is forecasted to be sufficient to meet this increased freight demand – however, transmission and distribution networks will require significant upgrades to manage changing load profiles.
While additional energy generation is needed, forecasts indicate that there will be sufficient generation to meet the needs of the sector. However, insufficient transmission and distribution infrastructure pose a more serious challenge to the future of freight electrification – particularly to support interstate and intrastate freight rollouts.
A phased rollout of charging infrastructure is recommended along key freight corridors, particularly on national highways, to support both intrastate and interstate freight operations. The report also said that cross-government collaboration is essential to tailor electric freight solutions to local needs.
Urban freight is ready for electrification. Smaller vehicles, shorter distances, and depot-based operations make urban freight the most viable starting point and is electrification-ready. Intrastate and interstate freight will require staged infrastructure and planning.
Australia will need 165 heavy vehicle charging hubs. The report outlines a first of kind national overview of a future electrified freight network, with up to 165 future freight charging hubs collocated with existing port, road, and intermodal infrastructure. However, further localised planning will be essential to determine optimal sites on a micro scale.
According to ARENA coordinated policy, planning, and regulation will be key to overcoming infrastructure and investment barriers, and this report underscores the need for integrated planning, targeted demonstration projects, and a national electric freight strategy with defined goals to guide the sector’s decarbonisation.
Together, these insights provide a practical roadmap to enable a scalable and reliable transition to electric road freight across Australia.
ARENA said ithas been working in this space for some time through its Driving the Nation program and is funding pilot trials of electric freight vehicles along key corridors such as Sydney to Newcastle and Melbourne to Ballarat. Helping to build operational know-how on vehicle performance, charging needs and grid impacts.
Funded projects include:
- Centurion – ARENA is supporting Centurion with $15.8 million to roll out 30 battery electric trucks and 15 dual port chargers to cut emissions from its depot in Hazelmere
- Patrick Terminals – Patrick Terminals was awarded $2.5 million to install nine battery electric terminal trucks and fast chargers at Western Australia’s largest container port
- ANC – ARENA was granted ANC $12.8 million to electrify 112 zero-emission delivery trucks
For more information about projects related to the decarbonisation of transport, visit the ARENA project list on its website.
