World's first electric A-triple road train unveiled in Brisbane

Long-established transport company, South East Queensland Hauliers (SEQH), together with Volvo Trucks has unveiled the world’s first electric A-triple at the Port of Brisbane this week.

The event welcomed government officials, port operators, Volvo Trucks executives and the SEQH team to the Multi-User Terminal at the Port of Brisbane, offering an up-close look at the zero-emission innovation ahead of its on-road debut.

“Fifteen years ago, in this very room, in 2010, it was SEQH and Haulmark trailers that were here to launch the A-double,” said SEQH Deputy Managing Director, Nathan Craner.

“Today, we’re here to talk about electrification and launch SEQH’s first two electric vehicles, with many more to come.”

The achievement was the result of a multi-prong partnership, with Volvo Trucks Vice President Tom Chapman describing the process as one of “intense collaboration”, in line with Volvo Group’s global mantra: Partnership is the new leadership.

“Today wouldn’t be possible without the partnership between SEQH, Port of Brisbane, the NHVR, TMR and Volvo Trucks, so there’s a lot of stakeholders in the room today,” he said.

“In the last 12 months, things have really stepped up in terms of working out what the trucks can do and then the necessary permits and all the collaboration needed to make that happen.”

Alongside the revolutionary A-Triple, hitched behind SEQH’s new Volvo FH Electric, the company also showed off its new FM Electric hooked up to one of its iconic Haulmark A-Double combinations, with both units destined for work around the port.

“This is really the perfect application for an electric vehicle, because it’s relatively lightweight, it’s short leads, and it’s a 24-hour-a-day operation,” Chapman said.

“They’re going to work six days a week, so each day they only get a top-up charge and then on Sunday it’s a full charge.

“We’re pretty confident in the trucks, with a lot of sophisticated route planning tools that we use to ensure the trucks can do that each day with the weights and distances.”

Joining the company’s existing fleet of more than 85 Volvo Group trucks, which run loaded containers between Brisbane and Toowoomba, among countless other routes, the new electric models will operate within the confines of the port.

“You don’t want to run these things thousands of kilometres a week, so they’ll all be on relatively short haul, with empty containers too, so at fairly low weights – but still productive,” said SEQH Managing Director, Brett Plummer.

The FH Electric A-triple will operate at 48-tonnes, offering a driving range of around 250km, while the FM Electric will pull a mix of A-double and even single trailer setups.

“We might use it for singles too, but we’ll buy other ones just for single trailer use,” Plummer confirmed.

“SEQH sees a substantial task for electric trucks, not only in the high-productivity electric combination showcased here today, but also in the more traditional task of providing single trailer deliveries to warehouses near and far.”

While the electric Volvos won’t be running to the company’s Toowoomba depot, Plummer said that in theory they could, and the route presents some unique opportunities for electric trucks in the future.

“They could definitely do it,” he said.

“And the interesting thing about Toowoomba is when you get up there of course, you’ve got the steep range to charge you coming back.

“That has some particular advantages in the fullbox arrangement, where you’re carting empties up, so your mass is down, but then you’re coming down full with that extra mass. So as these things get better, there is an inbuilt advantage for electric trucks on that run.”

Interestingly, SEQH is one of a growing number of customers buying electric Volvo models without any assistance from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) – making the electric shift without the dollar-for-dollar funding early adopters took advantage of.

“The technology is proven, so globally we’ve delivered over 5000 of these, so there's no risk and it’s not a trial,” Chapman said.

“We’ve got about 80 electric trucks on Australian roads, and it’ll be more than 100 by the end of the year, covering 1.1 million kilometres across the fleet so far.”

According to Plummer, the numbers stack up, and he suggests the new electric models are “on par” with equivalent diesel trucks.

“Customers wanted it, so it was about how do we get one that can provide a cost-neutral arrangement,” he said.

“So they’re about lineball, in this application, with diesel. That’s not to say they are for all applications, but for this one they are.”

Plummer’s reason for purchasing the electric models without funding assistance was simple: “It’s just what we do.”

“We do stuff on our own. We get the numbers to scratch and make sense, and then we do it,” he said.

As far as charging infrastructure goes, which is an additional cost that deters many from entering the electric game, Plummer said the company had an existing solar arrangement and has plans to expand the setup further.

The new trucks kick off SEQH’s low-carbon strategy, as it gears up to reduce its emissions, coinciding with expansion plans at the port.

“We recently signed a long-term lease with the Port of Brisbane to expand our business,” Plummer said.

“The port’s forward-thinking and proactive approach allows us to become more competitive and showcase what’s possible if we ask, ‘how we can do this transport task better?'."

As SEQH cleans up the container transport industry from the inside out, some 60 years after it kicked off its port transport operation, the company looks even further ahead to a future of automation.

“I want to leave you with this last thing, and mark my words here today, the next time we meet in this room we predict it’ll be to talk about autonomous vehicles – inside the next 15 years,” Craner said.

Plummer echoed the sentiment: “Put it in your diary for 15 years, please – we’ll be back here!”