TruckShowX outlines the clean road ahead

For anyone interested in peering into a crystal ball to find out what trucking is going to look like in the future, the TruckShowX in the Hunter Valley, organised every two years by the Heavy Vehicle Industry Association, is a good place to start.

It's an opportunity for those who are developing the technologies that will take the trucking industry forward, to showcase what a carbon zero future might look like. It's also an opportunity for people in the industry to get together and swap ideas about that road forward.

The best part is you get a feel for it in the metal.

This year, the impressive lineup of speakers spanned operators dipping their toe into the water of zero emission trucking, and living to tell the tale, to engineers developing solutions to the goals of zero emission trucking and ultra-efficient road transport operations.

Some even discussed how new technologies like artificial intelligence are going to come through and aid the development of the trucking industry.

“When I reflect back across my time at the industry, I see a pace of change that appears to be getting faster, and disruptions that are both unpredictable and often occurring at the same time,” said Julie Russell, director and third generation family member of Russell Transport in Brisbane.

“At our founding, my grandfather's first key decision was whether to go with the new technology of the day, or stick with the horse and cart.”

The presentations and displays at the event suggest it's not a simple horse versus internal combustion engine debate, when going down the carbon reduction process for trucking operators. There are plenty of choices, and many and varied routes to take on the road to a low carbon industry.

There is also no single replacement for diesel; a fact amply demonstrated by the variety of speakers at the event, and different trucks available for test driving on site. These included hybrids and an electric prototype van from Hino, and a dual-fuel diesel engined truck from Change, that uses both diesel and hydrogen at the same time in a combustion engine.

Also on site were some of the electric trucks already available on the Australian truck market, from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Foton, Fuso and Volvo, and including prime movers as well as large and small rigid trucks.

Also on display was the hydrogen fuel cell powered Shacman prime mover, a Eurocold zero emission refrigerated body on a UD Quon and the mysterious, DeepWay Star. There was also a Volvo FH prime mover that ran on both diesel and hydrogen, with an adapted diesel engine.

For attendees starting the process of working out which solution, or mix of solutions, will suit their particular freight task, the wide array of choices available to truck operators laid out by the presentations provided plenty of food for thought.

“So far, talking about low emission trucks has been a bit of a niche, maybe a bit of a novelty,” said Romesh Rodrigo, Head of Regulatory Affairs and Emerging Mobility Sales Daimler Truck.

“Now it's getting to be a reality from manufacturers like ourselves, Daimler Truck with Mercedes Benz and Fuso product, and also our competitors from the Swedish product, Volvo, and Scania," he continued.

"There’s also a lot of new entrants into the market, where you can see one of the key things is, it's really important to look at thinking about putting the right trucks in the right applications.”

From the conference stage operators like Toll Group, Centurion and Team Global Express explained the process they had to go through to begin moving their fleets across to lower carbon operation. One of the issues each of them pointed out was the importance of infrastructure to support the vehicles.

Limitations in the electricity grid make it difficult, or impossible, to charge electric trucks in many areas, and the power available at many existing operating bases is often unable to support any more than a few electric trucks.

At the end of the day, a consensus emerges that battery electric trucks have been found to work well, where duty cycles and schedules aren't compromised. The most successful work on fixed routes, using depot charging, with light trucks and on metro operations, and usually under 300km per day.

At the same time, hydrogen fuel cells are better suited to longer distances, fixed routes, and high utilisation 24/7 operations applications of up to 1600km per day, with short refuelling times.

An overall conclusion is that there are technologies we are learning to use, but until we have the kind of charging and refuelling infrastructure required, the growth in low carbon road transport is going to be at a snail's pace for the forseeable future.

There is funding available to help with this development, with both ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) and CEFC (Clean Energy Finance Corporation) outlining the large amounts of funding that can be accessed for the right projects.

The CEFC has committed $70 million to Volvo Group Australia to help with corporate debt and support for truck residual value, and it also helped Team Global Express to the tune of $30 million with asset financing to accelerate electrification.

Related: How low can American trucks go?

Related: How to improve truck productivity amid the fuel crisis

Related: How far can an electric truck go on a full charge in 2026?

Related: What electric zero-emission trucks are available in Australia in 2026?