<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/australia-is-stuck-in-a-vicious-circle-of-diesel-fuel-imports-chinese-electric-trucks-offer-a-way-out/>
"Australia imported about 30.2 billion litres of diesel in 2025, based on
monthly data from the federal government’s
Australian Petroleum Statistics.
That was equivalent to roughly 90 per cent of reported diesel sales.
A supply-balance calculation that includes domestic refinery production and
exports puts import dependence slightly lower, at about 87 per cent, but the
diagnosis is the same. Australia remains extraordinarily dependent on imported
diesel to move freight and support much of its industrial economy.
The strategic response is not to preserve the existing diesel system
indefinitely. It is to reduce how much diesel the economy requires.
As I argued in my earlier
RenewEconomy article on Australia’s oil-security
problem and its electrification gap, transport remains one of Australia’s
largest structural energy vulnerabilities. Heavy freight has been one of the
hardest sectors to electrify, but developments in China suggest that assumption
deserves another look.
Importing an electric truck, battery and charging or swapping equipment is
fundamentally different from importing fuel. The equipment is a durable
productive asset that can move freight for years using Australian electricity.
Diesel is consumed once and has to be purchased, refined, shipped and
distributed again after every tankful. A Chinese electric truck is imported
once. Diesel must be imported again for every kilometre."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
