For immediate release
Australia is one of the world’s most fuel-insecure nations and all of us are paying the price. From March to August, Australia picked up the world’s biggest diesel tab with an extra $9 billion on our diesel imports, or more than twice as much as the next highest country, Climate Council analysis shows. In the same period, higher fuel prices have directly cost drivers an extra $5 billion.
The Crude Awakening energy security scorecard ranks Australia No.1 for oil import dependency: our nation is the world’s largest seaborne importer of diesel fuel.
While Australia leads the world in rooftop solar and grid-scale batteries, we’re lagging dangerously behind when it comes to electrifying our transport and industries. The research reveals the path forward: the faster we power our homes, transport and industry with homegrown clean energy, the more control Australians will have over their energy costs when the next fuel shock hits.
The below experts in cleaner transport, electrification of trucks and freight and energy are available for interview. The Climate Media Centre can also connect you with case studies of Australians who are shielding themselves from the next price shock by electrifying their homes, businesses and transport.
To arrange interviews, please contact: Gabrielle Platt on 0493 442 307 or [email protected]
Experts and case studies available to speak on electrifying transport and freight:
Aman Gaur, Head of Legal and Advocacy at the Electric Vehicle Council
Aman can speak to the Electric Vehicle Council’s behavioural research data that reveals that working families in Australia's outer suburbs are benefiting the most from EV incentives and will be most deterred from buying EVs if the Federal and NSW government ditch EV incentives and introduce EV road user charges.
Daniel Bleakley, Co-Founder of New Energy Transport
Daniel can speak to how electric trucks are cheaper, faster and help Australia break free of volatile global oil markets, with New Energy Transport’s Sydney to Canberra delivery cutting energy costs by 84 per cent compared with diesel. He can also speak to what’s needed from governments and big transport buyers, including co-investing in charging infrastructure and targeted subsidies for electric prime movers. Daniel's career spans engineering, business and politics and he consults for businesses and governments on electrifying road freight.
Ben Hutt, Managing Director and CEO of Janus Electric
Ben can speak to how Australia could electrify its heavy freight fleet faster, cheaper and more easily than market commentators believe, by converting the diesel trucks already on the road to electric. Janus Electric can convert a truck to electric in under a week, with the technology enabling batteries to be swapped in four minutes and charging bays that prevent the need for nationwide charging networks. Its converted trucks have already travelled more than 750,000 kilometres. He can also speak to cutting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel and what governments could do to speed it up. He has more than 20 years’ experience in technology, energy and capital markets.
Gareth Ridge, Country Director, Australia and New Zealand at Zenobē
Gareth can speak to what it takes for a fleet to go electric in practice, from finance that removes the upfront cost to charging hubs, including Zenobē’s $100 million funding program for Australian truck operators and its Sydney hub supporting Woolworths’ electric home delivery fleet. He previously worked on strategy and new technology at TransGrid, focused on the electrification of industry and grid-scale storage and now leads Zenobē’s business across Australia and New Zealand.
Andrew Clennett, CEO and Co-Founder of Hiringa Energy
Andrew has hands-on experience developing sovereign energy security in real time, giving Australian industries viable alternatives to imported fuel and fertilisers. As CEO and co-founder of Hiringa Energy, he is actively planning Australia's first green hydrogen refuelling corridor along the Pacific Highway, starting with three stations between Sydney and Brisbane. The network is backed by a NSW Government grant, with each station initially capable of refuelling more than 100 trucks a day using green hydrogen made on site. He can also speak to Hiringa and Sundown Pastoral Company's Good Earth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia (GEGHA) project in northern NSW, which uses solar power to produce renewable fertiliser and green hydrogen fuel, decarbonising farming operations while enhancing energy security by establishing local supply chains for the first time.
Daniel Wurm, EV owner and Manager at Green Building Institute
Daniel has just picked up the keys to his new plug-in hybrid 4x4 which he’ll use as a family and work vehicle. Daniel has spent his career in construction, and can speak to the desire among Aussie tradies for greater access to electric utes, and the pain hitting tradies' wallets from the price shocks of diesel. Daniel can also speak to training tradies in energy efficient building. A qualified trainer from the construction industry, Daniel created the Energy Smart Tradies program.
Location: Dandenong Ranges, Victoria
Daniel says “My new hybrid will cost me nothing to drive around town and it can tow a trailer and take our family 4x4 camping like other tradies. It has full 4x4 capability as good as any typical tradie 4x4, is $20K cheaper to buy compared to its popular internal combustion engine competitors and can power all my tools on the work site and power a camp site.
“The decision to get an EV was easy. The problem is that most people have never sat down and calculated how much owning an ICE vehicle costs them. Our EV costs us less than $100 per year for charging and less than $700 per year for servicing. This means that we can recoup the entire cost of the car worth $32K in less than seven years. Why wouldn't anyone do that?
“Our friends often ask us how we can afford to go on overseas holidays every year and I simply point to the EV. It's saving us $4500 per year. It's a no brainer.”
Experts available to speak on clean energy and polluting oil and gas:
Satya Tanner, Tanner Consultancy Services and Adjunct Fellow, University of the Sunshine Coast.
Satya can speak to 'nested self-sufficiency' and what that means for resilience, energy security, economic security, national security, and all the downstream uses of energy that we’re feeling the heat on right now.
Kevin Morrison, Energy Finance Analyst, Australian Gas at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)
Kevin can speak to how imported oil and exported gas means international conflicts quickly translate into price rises and insecurity at home. Kevin can also speak to shared and public transport and electrification.
Tim Buckley, Founder and Director at Climate Energy Finance.
Tim can speak to the need to reduce fuel dependence, power heavy industry with Australian renewables, cut household bills with electrified homes, solar and batteries and make gas corporations pay their fair share of tax.
Contact details:
To arrange interviews, please contact: Gabrielle Platt on 0493 442 307 or [email protected]
