NZ’S first electric milk tanker launched
DAIRY: Some hard yards on road to decarbonisation have been accomplished
New Zealand's first electric milk tanker, Milk-e, has been officially launched by the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods, in Morrinsville.
Local government, iwi, industry and Fonterra representatives were present to recognise the milestone in decarbonising NZ'S heavy transport.
The tanker is part of Fonterra's fleet decarbonisation work and one of the programmes helping the co-op towards its sustainability goals.
The team at the co-op's Morrinsville workshop had done a fantastic job with the tanker, Fonterra chief operating officer Fraser Whineray said.
“Being a New Zealand first, there's been a lot of creative thinking and Kiwi ingenuity to bring Milk-e to life.”
The electric milk tanker will operate out of Fonterra's Waitoa site, which Whineray said was fitting, given it was the site of New Zealand's largest fleet of electric milk trucks 100 years ago.
The Waitoa plant is also near supplying farms on relatively flat land, so the co-op could do shorter runs and reduce battery consumption with fewer hills.
Battery configuration changes gave the team an opportunity to trial additions to improve milk collection efficiencies, reduce safety concerns, and significantly reduce the amount of work required to customise a
Fonterra tanker.
A battery swap system is being installed at the Waitoa site to trial how this could work within a fleet to minimise downtime from battery charging.
“It's been great to see the team turn challenges into opportunities — so, in addition to trialling Milk-e's on-road ability, we're also trialling a new electric pump, hose configuration and cabinetry,” Whineray said.
Milk-e was named by Fonterra farmer Stephen Todd from Murchison after the co-op held a Name the E-tanker competition which it described as “fierce but friendly”.
Fonterra received co-funding from the Government's Low Emissions Transport Fund, which is administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
The EECA group manager of investment and engagement, Nicki Sutherland, said New Zealand had ambitious targets to rapidly reduce carbon emissions.
“Transport is key, but heavy freight has proven hard to decarbonise,” he said. “If successful, this project could be replicated across a number of New Zealand businesses.”