Electric truck does first beer run in SA
SAB and AB InBev’s renewable energy campaign was demonstrated last week with the arrival of the first electric truck in South Africa.
The vehicle, known as the eCanter, was designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi, part of the Daimler commercial vehicles business.
The 7.5-ton FUSO eCanter is the first of its kind in the world. It has a battery capacity of 82.8kWh and a range of about 100km to 120km. It is currently operating in Germany, Japan and Portugal.
“We are honoured to form part of this game-changing event and for the opportunity to showcase the eCanter, our revolutionary response to the public’s need for a zero-emission truck,” said Ziyad Gaba, head of FUSO trucks Southern Africa. SAB and AB InBev Africa are in the process of working on a pan-African renewable energy tender which would seek to source an equivalent of 440MW of solar capacity. This represents an initial investment of approximately R5.6 billion for installation at these facilities, which would be invested by the business’s development partners with a further R12.4 billion in energy cost that would be committed by AB InBev over a 20-year period. The implementation will consist of three phases, beginning with on-site solar installations with a capital investment of around R1.1 billion.
Once maximum capacity onsite has been achieved, renewable energy solutions will expand to appropriately identified sites surrounding SAB’s breweries:
Phase 1 represents on-site solar installations
Phase 2 comprises renewable energy solutions installed on land adjacent to SAB’s breweries which would be hard wire cables to its breweries
Phase 3 will involve offsite renewable energy solutions, which comprise remote installations, requiring wheeling agreements to deliver the power to breweries.
In line with the above, SAB says it plans to migrate one of its South African facilities to 100% renewable energy supply by the end of 2020. It is one of the first of its kind in the country. The multi-faceted solution will encompass a wind and solar energy supply mix, a wheeling arrangement and energy banking.