Ben Hutt took the helm of Janus Electric in January this year with a conviction hardened by childhood memory: at age 12, he drove a Class 8 diesel rig around an airfield adjacent to his parents' trucking business in the UK. Now, as CEO of the Australian company converting existing diesel trucks to electric drivetrains, he's bringing that intimate knowledge of the trucking world to one of the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors on earth. And he's doing it by keeping trucks on the road — not scrapping them.
The scale of the opportunity is staggering. Four million trucks already operate on American roads, each needing a new engine every 5 to 10 years. Instead of swapping in another diesel engine, Janus Electric offers a different path: retrofit existing trucks with electric drivetrains and have them back on the road within a week. This approach preserves the embedded carbon already invested in manufacturing the vehicle, making it the "affordable, accessible, zero-waste route to electrifying fleets," as Hutt describes it.
California's port regions are forcing the issue. The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles require all drayage trucks to run zero-emissions by 2035 — a deadline that has created an urgent market for conversion solutions. Janus Electric has already activated its first U.S. dealer, Electric Vehicle Choice, and begun exporting engine conversion kits to California. More significantly, the company has received confirmation that two vouchers were granted for its first two American vehicle conversions through California's Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). This means fleet operators can get a drayage truck converted for almost nothing, removing the biggest barrier to adoption.
What makes Janus Electric's offering unique in the global market is not just speed or cost, but weight and performance. The company sources batteries from Electrovaya, a Canadian manufacturer, which supply lighter cells than competitors. An upcoming engine option paired with these new batteries will keep the vehicle's steer axle weight under 6.5 tons — below all Australian weight limits and below what heavier Chinese competitors can achieve. "You won't need to build new bridges," Hutt jokes, but the implication is serious: lighter trucks mean broader market access and reduced infrastructure strain.
Hutt arrived at Janus Electric from six years building battery orchestration software, a platform that served 35 utilities across 9 countries before being acquired by Intellihub, Australasia's largest smart metering business. His commitment to the energy transition runs deep, even extending to his personal transportation — he drives a Tesla Model 3 Performance. When asked if Janus Electric is the "NIO of trucking," referring to the Chinese company's battery-swapping technology, Hutt acknowledged the parallel but emphasized a crucial difference: NIO sells new vehicles, while Janus Electric refits existing ones, extending the life of trucks already in circulation.
The company works closely with its founder, Lex Forsyth, and is expanding partnerships with mining operators and logistics firms. In Western Australia, Janus Electric is developing mine-specific solutions through trials with Qube and other operators like Fortescue Metals. Hutt's vision is pragmatic: there's room for everyone in the transition. Chinese electric trucks are welcome. Janus Electric simply offers something different — a way for existing fleet owners to keep the trucks they know and love while participating in electrification. "All trucks have a personality," Hutt says. With Janus Electric, truckies get to keep theirs.