Leading Australian electric vehicle charger provider Chargefox has accelerated the roll out of its DC fast charging network, announcing on Wednesday that it now has more sites under development than it has live.
Chargefox has so far rolled out DC fast chargers at five sites across Victoria and in Brisbane as part of a national initiative to make travelling in an electric car more user friendly for the Australia public.
Now, it has announced that locations at Sydney, Ballina, Cooma, Karuah, and Gundagai in NSW and Moe in Victoria will be opened in the not-too-distant future.
Once open, the six new locations will more than double the Chargefox network that when complete will include 22 sites from Adelaide to Brisbane, as well as Tasmania and Perth, and link up with the Queensland Electric Super Highway (QESH) that stretches from Coolangatta to Cairns and is also managed by Chargefox.
Each site has at least two of each 350kW chargers from ABB and Tritium with two parking bays, with certain sites fitted with additional 50kW chargers from Tritium.
All sites have both CCS2 and CHAdeMO plug types, and are thus suitable for all modern EVs including Teslas when used with an adapter (or Model 3s which have CCS2 built-in).
The 350kW chargers can deliver up to 450km of range in 15 minutes, whilst the 50kW can deliver 60km in 15 minutes – enough time to stop, rest and recharge the brain as well as the car.
Chargefox CEO Marty Andrews said in a statement that, “We’re committed to making EV charging simple, fast and clean, and are thrilled to be leading the way in making this a reality for all Australians.”
“Our plans to complete the first phase of our ultra-rapid network are well underway now.”
“From our rapid growth over the past two years, we’re learning how drivers in Australia use EVs, and are now using those lessons in future planning to grow the network Australians need,” Andrews said.
Funded by investment from Australian Motoring Services (RACV, NRMA, RACQ, RAC, RAA and RACT), Wilson Transformers and the founder of Carsales, Greg Roebuck, the Chargefox network has also been made possible by funding from ARENA as part of its Advancing Renewables Program.
A number of partnerships signed with electric car manufacturers including Jaguar, Nissan and BMW, as well as a deal with Powershop that hopes to further drive a shift to zero emissions, electric transport, underline the fact that Chargefox is kicking some serious EV goals.
It will form one of several electric vehicle fast-charging networks, including the 50-strong network planned by Evie Networks (also thanks to $15 million in funding from ARENA), the QESH, and motorist association NRMA’s own DC fast charging network that will cement the transition to electric vehicles in Australia.
Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.
