Fonterra launches New Zealand's first electric milk tanker to reduce emissions

Minister for Energy and Resources Dr Megan Woods and Fonterra chief operating officer, Fraser Whineray. Photo / Supplied

Dairy co-op Fonterra and Minister for Energy and Resources Dr Megan Woods celebrated the launch of a milestone project in Morrinsville yesterday: New Zealand's first electric milk tanker.

The tanker is a pilot project that has, if successful, the chance to transform the heavy transport sector across the country as road transport is one of the fastest growing sources of emissions.

The Government has the ambitious goal to cut emissions from freight transport by 35 per cent by 2035 and Fonterra sees the tanker as an opportunity to help the country achieve this goal.

The tanker, named Milk-E by one of Fonterra's farmers, has been built by the co-op's Morrinsville workshop.

Fonterra chief operating officer Fraser Whineray said Milk-E is part of Fonterra's fleet decarbonisation work since the co-op has the ambitious goal of becoming a leader in sustainability.

"Our teams are constantly looking at how we can decrease our emissions - from on the farm, to at our sites and throughout our transport network," Whineray said.

"The team here at our Morrinsville workshop have done a fantastic job of pulling this tanker together. Being a New Zealand first, there's been a lot of creative thinking and Kiwi ingenuity to bring Milk-E to life."

The tanker will operate on battery-swap technology. It will take about three hours to charge one battery, which can be swapped out in about six minutes.

It has a range of about 140km on a full charge, but this is still needing to be tested. This is why Milk-E will operate out of Fonterra's Waitoa site, because the town has lots of close supplying farms on relatively flat land, meaning shorter runs.

Whineray adds that more than 100 years ago, Waitoa had New Zealand's largest fleet of electric milk trucks, so the town now being home-base to the country's first modern electric milk tanker is only appropriate.

Milk-E is about the same size as a regular tanker with the capacity to carry 28,000 litres. However, because the 'truck' part of the tanker is a bit heavier due to the battery, it will carry around 2,300 litres of milk less so Fonterra can operate within the permitted weight.

Milk-E is part of Fonterra's fleet decarbonisation work. Photo / Supplied

Minister Woods said she hopes this project will deliver valuable lessons and insights that will be shared with others and can be replicated.

"In the dairy sector, nationwide annual emissions from Fonterra's milk collection are estimated to be around 126,000 tonnes of CO2, so if this project proves replicable, it represents an excellent opportunity to make a huge cut to Fonterra's heavy fleet emissions," Woods said.

Transport makes up more than 20 per cent of the country's emissions, and heavy vehicles emit almost a quarter of our total transport emissions.

"Government partnerships with industry are vital to achieving our climate goals," Woods said.

"It's likely a mix of hydrogen, electricity and other low-emission fuels will be needed to help meet the Emissions Reduction Plan's target to cut emissions from freight transport by 35 per cent by 2035.

"[This project] has the potential to be transformational for heavy transport."

Fonterra received $427,000 co-funding from the Government's Low Emissions Transport Fund (LEFT), which is administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

The estimated total cost of the electric truck cab, chassis and conversion into a tanker was $850,000.

EECA Group manager of investment and engagement Nicki Sutherland was pleased to see this project come to life.

"New Zealand has ambitious targets to rapidly reduce carbon emissions, and transport is key, but heavy freight has proven hard to decarbonise. If successful, this project could be replicated across a number of New Zealand businesses," Sutherland said.

Local government, iwi, industry and Fonterra employees were also present at the launch to recognise the significant milestone in the decarbonisation of New Zealand's heavy transport.