Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited, in collaboration with SwitchLabs Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. and Energy In Motion Ltd., has announced the deployment of 24 heavy-duty electric trucks to carry bulk raw materials from Karaikal Port to its plants in Dalmiapuram and Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu. The electric fleet will transport petcoke, slag, and gypsum, replacing diesel-powered freight on the corridor.
Each truck is expected to run about 12,000 km a month, taking the fleet’s combined annual utilisation to nearly 2.9 million km. The two companies have also developed a trailer-swap operating model, enabled by separate tractor and trailer registration. Under this model, an electric tractor can switch trailers instead of sitting idle during loading and unloading. This improves utilisation, cuts waiting time, and raises daily productivity, making high-utilisation electric heavy freight commercially viable.
A Dalmia Cement spokesperson said electrifying high-utilisation freight is one of the more complex challenges in the shift to cleaner mobility. The separate registration is an important first for Tamil Nadu, and the project is a practical step towards the company’s RE100 and EV100 commitments.
Mr. Ajay Pratap, CEO & Co-founder, SwitchLabs, said the future of heavy freight in India will be electric, connected, and infrastructure-led. He said the project brings together high-utilisation electric trucks, dedicated charging infrastructure, and an operating model built around real industrial logistics needs.
Assuming an electricity mix of about 70% renewable energy and 30% grid power, the fleet is estimated to avoid around 3,735 tonnes of CO₂e a year on a life-cycle basis. This equals the annual carbon absorption of about 1.7 lakh mature trees.
The collaboration goes beyond this deployment. SwitchLabs is also deploying electric tipper trucks at Dalmia’s Dalmiapuram and Ariyalur operations, and the two companies are working on more electric mobility projects across Dalmia’s logistics network. The fleet is supported by dedicated charging infrastructure designed for its high daily mileage and turnaround needs.
