In the past couple of years, most public events have either moved online, been delayed … or in many cases, simply cancelled.
For one of these – the annual national EV Conference and Expo run by the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) – all three have occurred! In 2020 it moved to an international but online event, in 2021 it was cancelled altogether and in 2022 it has been delayed by several months from its original April date.
However next week finally sees it return as an in-person, three day event at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPiC). Running from Friday August 5 to Sunday August 7, Friday will focus on a one-day conference covering topics as diverse as ‘Solving the EV availability barrier’, ‘Charging and the Building Code’, and ‘Best practices for Fleet EV charging’.
Headline speakers include the ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr and independent federal senator, David Pocock.
The keynote speaker will be Heidi Lee from Beyond Zero Emissions giving an address on where Australia is in the global EV and environmental picture and why we need to act fast on moving to electrifying all forms of transport. For further information on the conference and how to register see here.
Following the conference, Saturday and Sunday provides a two day EV Expo featuring car manufacturers as well as suppliers of many other forms of electric transport – including electric motor bikes, scooters and bicycles.
Service providers will also be in attendance providing information on such topics as home charging options, EV finance options and how to apply for government EV rebates and discounts. Try-drive and try-ride bookings will also be available on both days.
There will also be a rolling set of public talks over the two days covering the expanding range of EV models available in Australia, as well as demystify topics such as vehicle charging, range and conversions. The Expo is free, but booking is essential – for further information, see here.
Please note: I should add a disclaimer here that I am a member of the AEVA and will be part of the Friday conference presentations.
Bryce Gaton is an expert on electric vehicles and contributor for The Driven and Renew Economy. He has been working in the EV sector since 2008 and is currently working as EV electrical safety trainer/supervisor for the University of Melbourne. He also provides support for the EV Transition to business, government and the public through his EV Transition consultancy EVchoice.