A new deal with European electric car charging network Ionity will see Brisbane’s Tritium install its ultra-rapid fast chargers at an additional 120 sites across Europe.
The deal – announced this week at the at the 32nd International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS32) alongside another deal to provide its 50kW fast chargers at the UEFA final next month – is the largest the Australian electric car infrastructure manufacturer has ever signed for its 350kW DC ultra-fast chargers.
It will see Australian-designed and developed EV chargers installed at 220 out of a total 400 sites for the European network, which was established in 2017 in a joint venture between BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen (including Audi and Porsche).
When completed, over half of the Ionity sites in Europe will be fitted with the 350kW Veefil-PK chargers – which can add up to 350km of EV driving range in as little as 10 minutes – giving Tritium a solid foothold in the rapidly growing European EV infrastructure market.
“Ionity has a vision for electric vehicle charging which mirrors ours; it’s not just about the speed of the charge but the experience for customers,” said Tritium CEO and co-founder David Finn in a note by email.
“These chargers will soon be ubiquitous along the highways of Europe and ensure that the increasing number of EV owners across the continent will be able to drive whenever and wherever they want.
“The sheer number of these chargers will all but eliminate range anxiety while enabling energy freedom and announces to the world that EVs are here to stay,” said Finn.
Ionity CEO Michael Hajesch says the decision to work with Tritium was guided by Tritium’s proven ability to scale up rapidly.
“We were looking for an excellent strategic partner able to run with us from the start and scale up our operations in Europe. Tritium obviously fits the bill,” he said in a note by email.
Tritium are already preparing for the increased output that will be required by deals such as this one with Tritium; only last month it announced the expansion of manufacturing facilities at its global headquarters in Murrarie, Brisbane.
With over 300 staff now employed at the facility, half of which consist of engineering and R&D teams, the future for Tritium – which also has markets in the US and India – looks very promising indeed.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.