Polestar 2 crosses Nullarbor to try out new chip-oil charger

A Polestar 2 electric fastback has made an 800km trip along one of the most remote roads in the world across the Nullarbor Desert to test out a series of EV chargers powered by used vegetable oil.

The story of the Biofil EV charger, that The Driven has been following since retired engineer Jon Edwards started testing the idea using a diesel generator back in late 2018, forms a key chapter in the broader history of electric cars traversing the vast Australian outback without public EV fast-charging options.

Solo electric road trips around the “Big Lap” have, in the past, been completed either with extensive planning and a great deal of patience, or – in the case of Dutch EV road trip pioneer Wiebbe Wakker, who spent three days marooned in the outback when the converted VW Golf he was driving didn’t have enough charge to get to the next roadhouse – a reckless sense of adventure and trust in human kindness.

While those intrepid road-trippers – many of whom you can read about in our Road Trips section – were able to supplement their charging needs with a combination of three-phase camping outlets and standard powerpoints at businesses and even people’s homes, as EV uptake increases, adequately distributed charging infrastructure will be key to travelling long distances.

Enter the Biofil, which has now been installed at Caiguna roadhouse to help fill a gap between Norseman in WA and the South Australia border; as The Driven has reported, although the WA government is funding the longest intrastate charging network in the world, it left a 700km gap.

Another two have been temporarily installed at Southern Cross, west of Kalgoorlie, and at Norseman between Kalgoorlie and Caiguna.

Volvo’s high-performance sister brand, Polestar, which recently launched the Polestar 2 in Australia, took the opportunity to test out the Biofil chargers last week.

Starting its 786km journey from Caiguna, the Polestar 2 stopped at Balladonia, then Norseman, Kalgoorlie and then Southern Cross.

But the fact that one of Australia’s most remote roads is now home to EV chargers that don’t require connection to the grid, and instead make use of a waste product that would otherwise be disposed of (and is releasing recently-sequestered carbon so therefore doesn’t have the impact of burning fossil fuels), is significant.

“To turn a waste product into a CO2-neutral charging solution, which connects Australian EV owners from the east with the west, is the sort of ingenuity that has led to so many Australian innovations,” said Polestar Australia CEO Samantha Johnson in a note.

And, it is cheaper than installing solar panels to power remote chargers, Edwards says.

“The cost of installing an equivalent solar powered EV fast charger is over five times the cost of building the BiØfil fast charging unit.

“Solar energy would not have been economically feasible for such a low traffic location, making BiØfil the environmentally friendly interim solution for EVs driving across the Nullarbor right now.”

Naturally, Polestar was not the only electric car brand represented at the inaugural charging at Caiguna, as Tesla Owners Club WA can attest. At a recent send-off in O’Connor, no less than seven other EV brands were present, along with a converted Ford Focus.