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Janus Electric Battery-Swap Prime Mover Janus Conversion Module

A pack swap in about 4 minutes instead of charging — Janus doesn't build a tractor, it converts someone else's diesel vehicle into an electric one.

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Janus Electric Battery-Swap Prime Mover Janus Conversion Module — Side profile

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595 km

Range

manufacturer claim

170 t

Combination weight

2,500 Nm

Torque

6x4

Axle configuration

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Buying decision

The EvCompass verdict

The key arguments drawn from the published data and the EvCompass editorial summary.

620 kWh in two 310 kWh packs gives the manufacturer's claimed 595 km, but the more interesting figure is the fleet-measured consumption of 188 kWh per 100 km, calculated from over 600,000 km driven — a rarity in this database, because it's data from operation, not from a model. The whole proposition rests on the Charge & Change station network, though, which exists only in Australia and at four planned US sites — without that network the vehicle has no way to refill energy, because it does not charge from a plug. Janus does not operate in Poland or Europe.

Strengths

  • The measured in-service consumption of 188 kWh per 100 km comes from over 600,000 km driven, not from a manufacturer model.

Weaknesses

  • The Charge & Change station network exists only in Australia and at four planned US sites — without it, this vehicle has no way to recharge.

The full picture

Specifications

Manufacturer-published facts grouped by the decisions they inform, without raw source headings.

Battery and charging

Gross battery
620 kWh
Consumption
188 kWh/100 km
On charging
BATTERY SWAP, not plug-in charging - this is the whole point of the vehicle. Packs measure roughly 2.0 x 1.2 m and mount one on each side of the cab where the diesel fuel tanks and battery boxes used to sit. A depleted pack is exchanged for a charged one in about 4 minutes at a 'Janus Charge & Change' station, comparable to a diesel refuelling stop; the truck never waits on a charger and the packs are charged off-vehicle at the station. Network: Janus's own site reported 10 operational change-over stations and more than 3,500 completed swaps as of 2026; named Australian sites include Moorebank (NSW, intermodal terminal), Port Melbourne (VIC), Port Adelaide (SA), Hemmant (QLD) and Port Augusta (SA, renewably powered). Station throughput example: Moorebank runs an existing 180 kW Janus CCS charger plus a 360 kW quad-bay unit, taking that site from about 3.1 MWh/day to 9.3 MWh/day and from 5 trucks served to a stated capacity of 20. Port Melbourne is stated at 2 trucks with capacity for 20, Port Adelaide 3 trucks with capacity for 10. Four further Charge & Change stations are part of the first US order.

Powertrain

Powertrain
Battery electric
Peak power
537 kW
Torque
2,500 Nm
Axle configuration
6x4

Mass and load

Combination weight
170,000 kg

Market and year

Model year from
2,022
Markets
AU, US, CA
Production status
In production
Vehicle class
Class 8
Measurement basis
Manufacturer / Electrek July 2026: 'up to 370 miles' (595 km) on a full swap-in charge. Earlier and lower figures are on record for specific duty cycles: Janus has quoted an average 400-600 km per charge timed to coincide with Australian mandatory driver rest breaks, and 200-400 km for the 170-tonne triple-road-train build. Real fleet data published by Janus: 600,000+ km driven on 1,129,720 kWh consumed, i.e. roughly 188 kWh/100 km across the whole Australian fleet, with a further 394,472 kWh recovered by regeneration.

These are manufacturer-published figures gathered through EvCompass research.

Price and availability

What it costs and whether it is available in Poland

Published price evidence and the Polish availability answer, kept together for a buying decision.

The manufacturer publishes no price for this vehicle.

In heavy transport that is the rule rather than the exception — makers quote on request.

No public price. Janus sells a conversion service plus a battery subscription rather than a truck: the customer keeps their existing prime mover, Janus fits the Conversion Module, and the swappable packs are supplied and charged through the station network. Janus is ASX-listed (ASX:JNS) but has not published a per-conversion price. The order book is the only public commercial datum: 67 Class 8 conversions plus 77 battery packs and 4 stations ordered by four North American operators (Golden State Express, WEHACO, Tradelink Transport, King Fio Trucking) in July 2026, and 112 North American conversions under way in total (87 US, 25 Canada).

Source: No published price (ASX:JNS, conversion-plus-subscription model)

Poland

Not available in Poland

Not offered in PL and no European presence. Janus converts trucks in Australia (Berkeley Vale, NSW) and, since 2026, in North America; the whole proposition depends on the Janus Charge & Change station network, which exists only in Australia and at four planned US sites. n/a for Poland.

Charging infrastructure

Recommended chargers

Chargers matched to the vehicle's published power or to a clearly stated duty profile when that figure is missing.

This vehicle does not publish its own DC charging power. The chargers below are matched to a charging profile typical for this class of vehicle (around 375 kW), not to a figure this vehicle publishes.

Browse all chargers

Sources and research

Research notes

The sources and research notes behind the figures, claims and editorial assessment.

The most genuinely novel engineering in this group and the reason to cover Australia at all. Janus does not build a truck: it retrofits an existing Class 8 cab-over or conventional prime mover with the patented Janus Conversion Module - diesel engine out, electric motor, swappable battery packs and control electronics in - in under four hours, and keeps the donor truck's driveline. Documented donor conversions include Freightliner and Volvo FH/FH16. Battery architecture: a standard 310 kWh pack, with up to two packs carried, one on each side of the cab, for 620 kWh. Recorded batteryGrossKwh is the two-pack 620 kWh configuration; a single-pack truck is 310 kWh. Packs are exchanged, not charged on the truck - see chargeNote. Powertrain figures are per-build rather than per-model, because the donor truck differs. Two documented points: a general retrofit spec of a 480 hp (358 kW) electric motor on a single 310 kWh pack; and the headline 170-tonne-GCM tri-drive build, a converted Volvo FH16 8x6 rated 720 hp (537 kW) and 2,500 Nm with 620 kWh, retaining the Volvo 12-speed gearbox, built to haul a triple road train for an Australian miner. motorPowerKwPeak and torqueNm here are that 8x6 road-train build; axleConfig is recorded as 6x4 because that is the common configuration, but 8x6 exists. CONFLICTING FLEET NUMBERS - flag for the editor. Janus's own site (2026) states 25 converted trucks on the road, 124 on order, 10 change-over stations and 3,500+ swaps. CleanTechnica reported 50 converted trucks and 9 stations in January 2025. The two cannot both be current; the site figures are the more recent and are the ones used above, but the discrepancy is unexplained and may reflect a change in what is being counted (Australian fleet only vs global). Company status: Australian, founded on the NSW Central Coast, now ASX-listed as JNS and expanding into the US and Canada with first North American deliveries expected Q4 2026 running through 2027. A development partnership with Li-S Energy covers lithium-sulfur cells for future swappable packs; current pack chemistry is not published, hence batteryChemistry null. Range basis is soft: 595 km (370 mi) is the current manufacturer headline, but Janus has also quoted 400-600 km and, for the 170 t road train, 200-400 km. The fleet-average 188 kWh/100 km derived from Janus's own published totals is the most defensible consumption figure and is unusually useful because it is measured, not modelled.

Data confidence

MEDIUM

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