31 March 2024
NZ coastal shipping operator Pacifica Shipping is introducing fully electric battery swap trucks to create one of New Zealand’s lowest emission supply chains for heavy freight.
The company, a division of Swire Shipping (NZ), received NZ$252,000 in co-funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) towards the project.
It will help deploy two XCMG E700 electric trucks, supplied by local distributor Etrucks, to move full containers for the first and last mile at the ports of Auckland and Christchurch. The project is poised to achieve a significant reduction in carbon footprint by eliminating 5,100 conventional combustion engine truck movements and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 250 tonnes annually.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) have joined the initiative as a product partner while Mainfreight and Hilton Haulage have been brought on board as inland transportation partners. The first phase of the project will see the commencement of Mainfreight operating the battery swap trucks between CCEP’s Mount Wellington site and the Port of Auckland.
Operations will soon be expanded to Christchurch with Hilton Haulage operating between Lyttelton Port and CCEP’s Woolston site. The E700’s battery swap technology enables the rapid replacement of discharged battery modules with fully charged ones. This technology minimises operational downtime and enhances productivity.
Source: transporttalk
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