JK Cement starts hauling cement on 55-tonne electric trucks in Karnataka

JK Cement has begun moving cement on heavy-duty electric trucks, flagging off 20 55-tonne vehicles from its Muddapur plant in Karnataka, with logistics partner Billion Electric Mobility set to deploy more than 150 during the current financial year across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.

Electric freight in India has largely meant light last-mile vans; the heavier long- and mid-haul trucking that produces most freight emissions has been slower to move. A cement maker, in one of the most freight-intensive and hard-to-abate industries, running 55-tonne electric tractors is a real test of whether the economics now work. Billion Electric’s founder, Kartikey Hariyani, has said EV trucking has reached total cost of ownership on par with diesel on specific routes, particularly in the 19-tonne and 55-tonne categories, though that is the company’s own assessment.

The deal runs through Billion Electric’s e-mobility-as-a-service model, bundling trucks, charging, fleet operations and route management. Though JK Cement did not name the truck maker, Billion Electric’s 55-tonne vehicles come from Ashok Leyland and Montra Electric: Ashok Leyland’s AVTR 55T tractor, with a 300 kWh battery and a range of about 180 km, and Montra’s Rhino 5538, with a 282 kWh battery and about 198 km. Those ranges keep these runs in mid-haul, stockyard-to-stockyard territory rather than true long-haul. Across its wider fleet, Billion Electric also runs Tata Motors’ longer-range Prima E.55S, on a 450 kWh battery. Charging is handled by ChargeZone, a group company under the same founder, along corridors including Nipani, Pune, Hubli and Goa.

Billion Electric, founded in 2021 and a sister company to ChargeZone, raised $25 million in January and is targeting more than 500 electric trucks this year. Neither the deal value nor the per-truck economics were disclosed.