Wickham Freight Lines buys Australia's first Sunswap Endurance

Queensland operator commits to Endurance after a 1,671 km Sydney to Brisbane return trial that finished with 62% of the battery remaining.

Wickham Freight Lines, a family-owned business headquartered in Warwick, Queensland, has bought Sunswap Endurance, a battery-electric refrigeration unit for trailers with integrated solar charging. It is the first Endurance purchase in Australia. Wickham is one of the country's largest privately owned transport companies and has delivered freight along the east coast for over three decades.

Wickham tested Endurance on a demonstrator trailer supplied by Protran Solutions, Sunswap's exclusive Australian distributor, before it committed to buy. The trial ran from Sydney to Brisbane and back with frozen meat and chilled eggs on board. Endurance covered 1,671 km in 32 hours, including seven hours overnight with no solar input, and finished with 62% of the battery remaining. There was no plug-in charging at any point and no connection to the truck's power systems. Graham Keogh, Managing Director at Wickham Freight Lines, said: "After putting Sunswap Endurance through its paces in genuine field conditions, we were genuinely impressed. The performance, reliability and operational savings were beyond what we expected."

Wickham runs refrigerated freight on long-distance routes and tests new technology thoroughly before it joins the fleet. Keogh said: "Sunswap Endurance passed every test we threw at it. The energy savings are real, the cold chain performance is exactly what our customers expect and completing that kind of distance with more than half the battery still in reserve tells you everything about the reliability of this system."

Endurance is a purpose-built battery-electric refrigeration system that runs independently of diesel power, e-axles and truck-derived electrical systems. Integrated solar panels recharge the battery during daylight operation, and the battery bank keeps the unit running through overnight transits, loading dock waits and extended runs where sun isn't available. Refrigeration fuel costs are eliminated, and there is no engine, fuel filter or exhaust system to service. The unit runs quietly enough for noise-sensitive urban areas and overnight delivery windows.

Grant Turner, General Manager of Protran Solutions Australia, said: "Partnering with Wickham Freight Lines to deliver Australia's very first Sunswap Endurance Unit is a proud moment for the entire Protran Solutions team." Turner added: "To have them commit to purchase after that process is the strongest possible endorsement. We look forward to supporting them and to growing the Sunswap Endurance fleet right across Australia."

Read more

• Sunswap published the route, load and battery figures from the trial in Endurance just ran 1,671 kilometres. With 62% of the battery to spare.
• Sunswap's entry into Australia through Protran Solutions is covered in Sunswap expands into Australian market as global demand for electric refrigeration accelerates.
• The Clean Energy Finance Corporation commitment to Australian Endurance deployments is covered in Sunswap secures AUD $10 million investment to accelerate electric refrigeration across Australian fleets.
• Noble Foods runs Endurance across 40 units for Happy Eggs deliveries in the UK, covered in Happy Eggs' 40 unit deployment.

About Sunswap

Sunswap manufactures Endurance, a battery-electric transport refrigeration unit with integrated solar, and builds the software, service model and charging access that support it as a single system. Endurance runs for fleets including Tesco, DFDS, Birds Eye and Walmart Chile. In Australia, Sunswap sells through Protran Solutions, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has committed up to AUD $10 million to support more than 100 Endurance units across Australian retail and logistics fleets. More at sunswap.co.uk.

About Protran Solutions

Protran Solutions Pty Ltd supplies, installs and maintains refrigeration systems for Australia's transport sector and supports cold-chain compliance. The company has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the sector and is the exclusive Australian distributor for Sunswap battery-electric refrigeration units.

For Australian media enquiries, contact Glen Sharman on 0437 302 790 or at glen.sharman@seagreenadvisory.com.