Centurion’s Off-Grid BEV Project up and Running.

In-depth

18 July

“It is certainly the first of its kind in Australia and we have not been able to find anything like this, at this scale, globally.”

This week, Centurion commissioned milestone two of Australia’s first fully off-grid, 100% renewable energy, battery electric truck project, marking a major milestone in sustainable freight transport.

Centurion’s Perth Airport depot operates two charging sites, named North and South. The North charging site was commissioned back in February and the South charging site is now live from this week, adding a further 10 Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 Battery Electric Trucks to service the Perth metropolitan area. This brings the Hazelmere fleet to 30 electric trucks, all fuelled by onsite green energy supply.

South site energy infrastructure includes 2.2MW of rooftop solar, 3.44MWh of battery storage, 75kW and 150kW chargers, and a back-up generator operating on HVO. The project has been developed in partnership with ARENA under the Future Fuels Program.

The total project includes 30 Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 battery electric trucks – 25 rigid trucks and 5 prime movers, 4.4MW of rooftop solar and 10.3MWh of battery storage. They are charged using 15 dual-port slow and fast chargers, fully off-grid charging infrastructure with backup generation using HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil).

“The project is now fully operational, and it marks a significant milestone in progressing our decarbonisation journey,” said Justin Cardaci, CEO of Centurion. “Completing this important infrastructure milestone and having the full electric truck fleet operational is a great outcome for Centurion. It shows that with the right partnerships and investment, sustainable freight solutions are achievable today. We’re not only reducing emissions but also providing electric trucks fueled by green energy that can deliver a high-quality reliable service for our customers.”

Daimler Truck Australia Pacific President and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, congratulated Centurion for bringing the project online.

“We’re thrilled to see 10 more Mercedes-Benz eActros trucks join Centurion’s off-grid solar fleet, joining the 20 units that have already been delivering for customers and producing zero exhaust emissions.

“Day 1 of Centurion’s 30-strong fully-electric eActros truck fleet marks an important milestone for sustainable logistics in Australia. This is a remarkable achievement and I would like to congratulate Justin Cardaci and his team at Centurion for making it a reality.”

The $36 million project was delivered in partnership with Daimler Truck, Cape Dunstans, Switch Batteries and bp Australia, and made possible through $15.8 million in funding from ARENA. This project demonstrates how industry collaboration, renewable energy, and innovation can drive meaningful change in Australia’s transport and logistics sector, reducing emissions while maintaining operational performance.

The next step for the project is to optimise the integration of the green energy and electric truck fleet into Centurion’s wider operations at the Perth Airport depot. This project will generate significant learnings, and Centurion in conjunction with ARENA will be seeking to share this knowledge across the industry.

(The first stage including 20 trucks and related energy storage and charging facilities started work in February and now the second stage, including 10 more trucks and additional solar capacity and charging facilities comes online this week.)