SA diesel-slashing invention launches amid fuel crisis
As the Premier announces plans for heavier and longer trucks to fend off the fuel crisis, one South Australian company is poised to build thousands of semi-trailer systems capable of slashing diesel use by up to a half.
Timing is half the battle in business, with SA-based VE Motion’s February launch of its new trucking technology almost serendipitous.
Out of a factory at Murray Bridge, VE Motion builds and assembles the country’s first commercially available battery-powered trailer systems.
These devices electrify the trailer on articulated trucks, rather than the prime mover, delivering propulsion assistance and regenerative braking.
As such, the company claims its tech, developed over eight years, can reduce diesel use by up to 50 per cent alongside emissions amidst skyrocketing diesel prices nationwide.
“With Australia’s freight sector continuing to rely heavily on diesel we are excited that we have created and built this locally developed technology capable of cutting fuel use by up to 50 per cent,” VE Motion co-founder and CEO Dean Panos told InDaily.
“Since the fuel crisis, we have had over 20 companies reach out from across Australia, mainly medium-sized operators with fleets of 50 to 100 vehicles. We have an order with a NSW company, Divall Earthmoving, and are looking to get the trailer on the road in June, followed by New Zealand trials shortly after.
“We have completed our extensive off-road testing and are now ready for on-road testing and we are hoping to work with government agencies to fast-track this.”
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Typically, prime movers where drivers sit on Australian highways tow trailers along. VE Motion’s device adds power to the trailer to help support the engine up front.
“The feedback we’re getting from drivers is that it feels like the trailer is unloaded,” Panos said.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re carrying any mass behind you because the trailer is helping to support that prime mover, providing about half the power.
“You also get the added advantages of regenerative braking, which generates power as you go downhill.”
The CEO said the technology could support the Premier’s plans, allowing longer road trains across the state in the latest bid to conserve fuel in SA.
“Our system can enable longer and heavier vehicle combinations for the new network maps announced yesterday by Peter Premier Malinauskas by improving startability, gradability and acceleration.”
Panos said the company’s aim was to reduce fuel consumption by up to 50 per cent, “and a lot of our early data indicates that’s what we’re achieving”.
The product was launched to market in February, following an approximately $4 million research and development spend over the course of three years, supported by a $2 million federal government grant.
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“The industry wants it,” Panos said.
“The transporters want a really sick way they can decarbonise, particularly medium-sized operators. They’re not looking at doing token projects with one or two electric trucks. They’d like to decarbonise their fleet generally.”
As reported by the ABC, a recent trial in South Australia’s south-east found electric trucks were fit to use in the forestry industry, but were not financially viable.
The trial, completed by Fennell Forestry, found that the range of a truck on a full charge was only about 200 kilometres due to the weight of the load, about half of the expected range.
VE Motion’s system, unlike full-electric vehicles, operates as a plug-in hybrid and provides electric propulsion and energy recovery when conditions allow. It can also operate in diesel-only mode when required, ensuring trucks are never stranded by range of charging constraints.
The battery onboard the trailer can also power a lot of the on-board systems like refrigeration units and pumps – “the type of equipment that has traditionally been powered from the prime mover”.
While Australia is the first market in mind for VE Motion, Panos said he was in discussions with a “few international partners”.
“Some of our early adopters [after Australia] will likely be from New Zealand as a start,” he said.
“We will be launching the product in New Zealand initially, then expanding to Canada and North America.
“We’d like to launch the product into Europe as well, but we’re dealing with the different jurisdictional regulations, which is where a lot of effort gets spent.
“But with the runs on the board with what we’ve been doing here in South Australia, we’ll have the data to support a lot of expansions internationally.”
Panos hoped the company would soon be producing thousands of the electric trailer systems per year from its Murray Bridge base, which is staffed by “highly skilled workers who really love what we’re doing”.
“The transport sector is always seen as a difficult-to-abate sector. We don’t accept that,” Panos said.
“We think that this sort of technology is worth the investment over a full electric truck.”
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