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Australian conversion specialists Janus Electric have been celebrating a growing slate of orders for their Class 8 electric truck conversions, which ditch diesel in favor of advanced battery-swap electric power –but exactly how they’d deliver all those trucks was still a question. Now, we have an answer: Electrovaya will supply the batteries.
The concept of dropping an electric power unit into a Class 8 semi makes perfect sense, as most of these trucks are built as gliders. That is, rolling body and chassis without an engine and transmission that’s ready to receive power from Cummins, Detroit, International, or Volvo Penta. That’s the role that Janus Electric sees itself occupying, and it seems to be working.
Janus’ reservation book crept past 70 units this past summer, helped along in part by California’s HVIP Program and the US EPA’s Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) Grants. When the HVIP voucher is combined with the Port of Los Angeles’ “Plus” support, customers can received up to $166,000 per truck conversion. Factor in the massive fuel savings of electric and the classic good looks of square-nose Western Star truck body, and it’s easy to see why they’d be a popular choice.
As Jerry Seinfeld taught us however, it’s one thing to take a reservation –it’s another thing to deliver. To help make it happen, Janus has inked a battery supply deal with Electrovaya that will see a $26 million initial purchase orders for Electrovaya battery packs to demand for Janus’ products in the US and Canada, along with the battery company purchasing approximately $1.4 million in Janus stock with (what seems to be) actual money.