Janus Electric Holdings Ltd (ASX:JNS) earlier this week secured an approximately A$10 million repeat order from existing US customer Ability Tri-Modal, strengthening the company’s contracted position in the North American heavy-transport electrification market.
The order covers a further 16 diesel-to-electric conversion kits and 18 swappable battery sets, together with contracted recurring revenue. It increases Ability Tri-Modal’s commitment from four trucks to 20 and lifts Janus Electric’s North American order book to 45 conversions.
CEO and Managing Director Ben Hutt told Proactive that the repeat commitment reflected growing customer confidence in the platform and the company’s North American strategy.
Hutt said Janus Electric had focused heavily on the region, where policy settings in California, the wider United States and Canada were supporting the electrification of heavy transport.
“We’re now doing that and we’re seeing that at scale,” Hutt said, referring to the company’s success in converting its opportunity pipeline into firm orders.
Janus Electric has 20 conversions contracted in the United States and a staged 25-truck commercial program in Canada. Hutt said the company was also seeing proposals involving fleets of 10, 15 and 20 trucks.
Potential catalysts include the conversion of additional North American proposals into orders, progress on a prospective 50-truck Texas pilot and engagement with the Harbor Trucking Association. Hutt described the port-related opportunity as “absolutely monumental”, noting the volume of truck activity associated with California’s major ports.
Further catalysts could come from the selection of preferred financing partners and the establishment of a larger local operating model. Hutt said financing the supply chain would be critical as Janus Electric prepared to execute its growing order book.
The company is offering several routes for customers to adopt its technology, including direct purchases, leasing, rental and financing. Its core proposition allows fleet operators to convert existing preferred truck models from diesel to electric power.
Attention is now shifting towards execution. Hutt said Janus Electric was moving from Horizon One into Horizon Two, with production, delivery, maintenance and reliability becoming the principal priorities.
The company is targeting around 75 trucks on the road before Christmas and approximately 150 by the middle of the following year. Achieving those targets would depend on the supply chain keeping pace with the order book and on Janus Electric delivering reliable vehicles across its target markets.
Interview highlights
- Janus Electric secured an approximately A$10 million repeat order from Ability Tri-Modal.
- The order includes 16 conversion kits and 18 swappable battery sets, alongside contracted recurring revenue.
- Ability Tri-Modal’s commitment has increased from four trucks to 20 trucks.
- Janus Electric’s contracted North American order book has reached 45 diesel-to-electric conversions.
- The company has 20 conversions contracted in the United States and a staged 25-truck commercial program in Canada.
- Hutt said Janus Electric was increasingly discussing fleet proposals covering 10, 15 and 20 trucks.
- Potential growth opportunities include a 50-truck Texas pilot and engagement with the Harbor Trucking Association.
- California’s zero-emission transport policies are supporting demand, although Hutt said interest was also growing outside the state.
- Janus Electric is selecting preferred financing partners to support its supply chain and customer delivery options.
- The company offers customers several commercial models, including truck sales, leasing, rental and financing.
- Hutt said the business was moving from Horizon One into Horizon Two, with the focus shifting from order generation to delivery.
- Janus Electric is targeting approximately 75 trucks on the road before Christmas and around 150 by the middle of the following year.
- Production capacity, maintenance and truck reliability were identified as key execution priorities.
Proactive: An approximately A$10 million Ability Tri-Modal order has lifted Janus Electric’s North American order book to 45 diesel-to-electric truck conversions. Here to discuss the latest milestone is CEO and Managing Director Ben Hutt. Ben, good to see you.
Ben Hutt: Good morning, Jonathan. How are you?
Proactive: I’m good. I hope you’re well too. Let’s start with this expansion. Talk us through the order and what it says about customer confidence in the platform and the North American growth strategy.
Ben Hutt: We have been putting a lot of focus on North America. As you know, the policy environment is very supportive of electrifying heavy transport in California, more broadly across the United States and also in Canada.
We have been working very closely on the ground with these customers. Their commitment to do more shows that they have a long-term commitment to building a large fleet of Janus trucks.
We are increasingly seeing proposals involving 10, 15 or 20 trucks and are working closely with fleet operators. Linking it back to the Horizon strategy, the objective was to determine whether we could turn the opportunity pipeline into orders.
We are now doing that and seeing it at scale. I think today’s announcement is probably the first of several developments you will see over the coming weeks.
Proactive: The North American order book now stands at 45 diesel-to-electric truck conversions. Remind us how you reached this point.
Ben Hutt: Wes and the US team have been spending a lot of time with fleets in North America. They have also been working closely on infrastructure rollouts and forming partnerships with people on the ground in the United States.
That is now starting to build the order book. We are moving into the next horizon and considering what more Janus can do locally in North America and who the key partners should be.
Importantly, we are selecting preferred financiers to work with us on financing the supply chain, which is critical. Having a large order book is the first cab off the rank, and that gives us the opportunity to do more.
Proactive: You mentioned the significant incentive program behind this in California. Can you talk us through it and explain what it means for Janus Electric?
Ben Hutt: It is very important. California has been on the transport electrification journey for many years and has clearly signalled that the future of heavy trucks in the state needs to be zero-emission.
Natural gas has now been ruled out, so the alternatives are hydrogen or electric. Hydrogen trucks have not yet worked particularly well. California is signalling that, within 10 years, it wants half, if not all, of these trucks to be electric and zero-emission.
That is also what we are seeing elsewhere in the world, including through policy settings in Canada and other countries.
We know it is cheaper to operate electric trucks than diesel trucks, even when diesel prices are normal. The inertia has been around spending the money and committing to a product.
The Janus product is unique because fleet operators can retain whichever truck brand they prefer or already have in their fleets, and we can make it electric for them.
That value proposition is landing well with fleet operators, particularly in North America and Canada. We are excited about bringing these projects to life and delivering the trucks. The priority now is to deliver the orders.
Proactive: Beyond the existing order book, Janus is developing a potential 50-truck pilot in Texas and engaging with the Harbor Trucking Association. How large is that opportunity?
Ben Hutt: It is absolutely monumental. Harbor trucking is the gateway for trucks travelling in and out of the ports, and California’s ports are actively working towards electrification.
We mentioned the Texas opportunity because it shows demand is building outside California and is not being driven solely by Californian incentives.
There are proposals involving hundreds of trucks in the market, and we are working closely with customers across different regions.
We are trying to make the process as easy as possible. We can lease trucks, rent trucks, finance trucks or sell trucks. However a customer wants to access a Janus truck, we can now provide it and make the process easy at scale.
We know the scale of the opportunity in California. The Port of Long Beach has 26,000 truck movements a week. It is a massive opportunity, and we will continue to focus on it.
At the same time, Janus is an Australian business with Australian-made technology, and Australian customers are also committing to trucks. We are making progress across all markets.
Proactive: There are also opportunities in Canada and Australia. You mentioned the three-horizon strategy earlier. How does that tie everything together, and what would success look like by the end of financial year 2027?
Ben Hutt: In simple terms, the end of Horizon One is reached when we can see enough demand in a market to ask whether we should increase our involvement, become more connected and invest more.
The signal I am sending now is that we have a solid order book in Canada and the United States. There is likely to be considerably more coming from both markets, particularly California.
We are now going to deliver that order book. As part of the process, we will determine the appropriate local operating model. We already have some key partners in place, and this will become a major focus.
We are moving out of Horizon One and into Horizon Two. One goal was to have approximately 75 trucks on the road before Christmas, representing an incremental 50 trucks. We now have the orders required to support that goal, so the supply chain needs to respond.
By the middle of next year, we are looking at approximately 150 trucks on the road around the world. We expect to have the order book to support that target.
The priority is to put the trucks on the ground, build them and maintain them. They need to be 100% reliable, so the focus is now shifting towards delivery.
Proactive: Ben, we are moving quickly towards the end of the year, and it looks as though everything is going to plan. Thanks for your time. We will speak again when the next milestone is reached.
Ben Hutt: Great. Thanks, Jonathan. I appreciate your time.