After receiving $517,000 from the Labor Government in October last year to develop a facility to manufacture commercial electric vehicles, SEA delivered the first of its zero-emissions trucks to Kings Transport, an Australian logistics company.
The SEA trucks are powered by a modular electric drive power pack which can be used in new medium-duty vehicles, or repower existing diesel trucks.
On the company's website, there are three versions of its SEA-Drive systems available - including 70kWh, 120kWh and 140kWh battery packs and Permanent Magnet motors in various outputs.
The SEA-Drive technology can be applied to three types of vehicles; 5-7m vans and minibuses, 9-13t GVM truck cab/chassis, along with 14-17t GVM truck cab/chassis.
According to the company's website, the 'EV10' (above) - the type of truck delivered to Kings Transport - has a range of up to 180 kilometres from its 120kWh battery pack, can accelerate from 0-50km/h in 6.0 seconds, and has a limited top speed of 100km/h.
"We’re helping businesses right across the state develop a diverse range of new energy technology projects to help support this vital sector," said Lily D'Ambrosio, minister for energy, environment and climate change.
"Today we’re seeing the results of a fantastic initiative, made possible thanks to our New Energy Jobs Fund."
"The long-term aim of this project is to develop an innovative range of electric-powered commercial vehicles for a wide range of purposes," she added.
An additional benefit of the electric truck project other than a reduction in emissions, is that it provides an opportunity for skilled automotive assembly workers to continue working in the industry now that vehicle manufacturing is coming to a close.
SEA Automotive is expected to employ up to 80 skilled workers within four years.
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