CEFC and Team Global Express move to electrify Australia’s truck fleet
6 June 2024
The CEFC has made a $30 million financial commitment to support Team Global Express, one of Australia’s largest multi-modal transport and logistics operators, to accelerate the electrification of its truck fleet and help drive down national transport emissions.
Team Global Express will use the low-cost finance to deploy more than 300 assets, including light, medium and rigid battery electric trucks, courier vans, hybrid refrigerated trucks and mobile charging unit infrastructure across sites in Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland over the next three years.
The CEFC finance will make significant inroads in the emissions profile of what is considered one of Australia’s hardest to abate sectors1, heavy transport, and will also support Team Global Express customers in reducing the Scope 3 emissions associated with their transport needs.
As a nation heavily reliant on logistics and heavy transport, we face an urgent need to decarbonise our transport supply chain network to ensure we don’t get left behind globally. Freight and logistics play an essential role in the everyday life of all Australians, and our economy depends on transport to keep it moving.Ian LearmonthCEFC CEO
The CEFC commitment is part of a broader $190 million lending facility with commitments from leading Australian and international financiers including Commonwealth Bank Australia, IFM Investors, Daimler Trucks Financial Services, and Income Asset Management.
CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said: “Transport emissions account for 21 per cent of all emissions in Australia,2 and as our economy continues to decarbonise, transport is likely to become the largest sources of emissions by 20303.
“We know that international jurisdictions are already moving to electrify their vehicle fleets, As a nation heavily reliant on logistics and heavy transport, we face an urgent need to decarbonise our transport supply chain network to ensure we don’t get left behind globally. Freight and logistics play an essential role in the everyday life of all Australians, and our economy depends on transport to keep it moving.
“The CEFC concessional finance is helping lower one of the significant barriers to the wider take up of electric trucks – upfront vehicle costs – which means this investment will bring an unprecedented number of new electric trucks onto our roads, replacing emissions-intensive internal combustion engines.”
Team Global Express Group CEO Christine Holgate said: "Team Global Express is pleased to work with the CEFC as we embark on the further electrification of our vehicle fleet.
“Team Global Express operates across all four transport modes of air, road, rail and sea, and this funding will allow us to further integrate our leading Australian network and introduce products and services that our customers across Australia will benefit from.
“We know our long-term success is dependent on our ability to operate sustainably, adapt to changing conditions, and partner across the supply chain to strengthen our focus on ESG. Our mission is to be Australia's most sustainable national logistics solutions partner."
The CEFC investment builds on a joint Team Global Express and ARENA Depot of the Future project4 to assess the impact on fleet management, delivery routing and infrastructure requirements when a large fleet electrifies a material proportion of its operations.
Rory Lonergan, CEFC CIO – Infrastructure and Alternatives added: “The need for electrification of road transport goes beyond cars. Without decarbonising the wider transport sector, we will not be able to reach our net zero targets by 2050. As a key industry player in this sector, the leadership demonstrated by Team Global Express to decarbonise its business has the potential to significantly accelerate the uptake of electric trucks in Australia, setting an example for other freight, logistics and fleet businesses to support the take up of battery electric vehicles.”
While heavy vehicles make up only approximately four per cent of the road vehicle fleet, they account for 25 per cent of all road transport fuel consumed in Australia,5 with light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses accounting for around eight per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse emissions6.
There are more than 1 million7 registered heavy vehicle units in Australia, with road transport the dominant form of freight for the majority of commodities produced and/or consumed in Australia8, forming an essential part of Australia’s supply chain.
The higher upfront costs of electric trucks can be double the cost of diesel equivalents9. However, the electrification of articulated and rigid trucks could save Australia some $233 billion in costs associated with air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, noise and water pollution by 205010.
The CEFC has committed more than $62 million to the electrification of Australia’s vehicle fleet, helping finance more than 5,500 electric vehicles. Together with third party capital, this has helped deliver new investment exceeding $400 million.
Notable CEFC investment commitments include helping finance Australia’s first electrified bus fleet and increasing EV infrastructure with backing for JETCharge. CEFC capital is also contributing to an Ark Energy initiative to decarbonise heavy transport.
1 Climateworks Centre, How Australia can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in ‘hard to abate’ sectors.
2 Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia’s emissions projections 2023, p52.
3 Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia’s emissions projections 2023, p20.
5 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 2020.
6 Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia’s emissions projections 2023.
7 National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Annual Report 2022-23, p6.
8 National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, Why we need action.
9 Electric Vehicle Council, Electric trucks: Keeping shelves stocked in a net zero world, 2022, p16.
10 Deloitte, Australian Conservation Foundation, Local community benefits of Zero Emissions Vehicles in Australia, 2021, p6.
