Kerbside charging infrastructure across more than 60 local government areas across Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia is set to increase, with a $2.4 million funding commitment from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The funding will enable EVX Australia Pty Ltd (EVX) to install 250 public kerbside electric vehicle (EV) chargers across the three states.
ARENA said kerbside charging is critical to support the uptake of EVs across Australia.
By utilising existing power poles in urban and residential areas, charging will be more accessible to more people wanting to embrace EVs but struggling to find the infrastructure to do so.
ARENA CEO, Darren Miller, said kerbside pole charging provides the perfect solution to increasing public EV chargers.
“Not all electric vehicle owners have the ability to charge their vehicle at home or work, which is why we’re excited to partner with EVX on this rollout that utilises kerbside charging poles, providing a great opportunity to pair with EV charging,” he said.
“While sales of EVs are increasing, the expansion of public charging is vital in catering for future demand right across Australia.”
The Australian-designed and made pole-mounted EV chargers were developed by EVX to meet the technological limitations utility providers and local governments face in rolling out EV charging infrastructure sustainably while adhering to local electrical and planning regulations.
By using AC power with smart charging capability, EVX chargers have a low impact on the local electricity grid while being installed on the existing utility pole infrastructure, negating the need for disruptive works and ensuring a streamlined rollout.
ARENA said the cutting-edge technology makes it easy for people to charge their vehicles using 100 per cent renewable energy.
EVX CEO, Andrew Forster, said this was essential community infrastructure for the future.
“We are so excited that this partnership with ARENA is off the ground.
“The project will make EV charging more accessible for both residents and visitors to these regions, whilst also crucially allowing us to further test, adapt and develop the way we rollout this community charging infrastructure into the future.”
EVX, supported by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at UTS, will lead the coordination of real-time reporting and will work with Ausgrid and Essential Energy to develop flexible tariff structures. Endeavour Energy, SA Power Networks, Ausnet and CitiPower, Powercor and United Energy (CPPCUE) will also support the rollout, with Flow Power being the energy retailer for all 250 sites.
The project is expected to accelerate charger development, manufacturing and installation. It will also allow EVX and EV charging app Wevolt to develop an open-access interface between utility systems and the public charging network, creating a user interface to improve the customer’s charging experience.
The funding is being delivered by the Driving the Nation Program.
