Source: Kempower
The longest electric car charging network in Australia is to feature EV chargers from the Finnish company Kempower, it has been announced.
The 5,300km charging network, which will stretch from Eucla near the South Australian border to Perth and up to Kununurra in the state’s north, forms a key part of the McGowan Labor Government’s $21 million Electric Vehicle Fund which aims to boost EV infrastructure.
The announcement follows the confirmation in August that Jetcharge will supply hardware for the network. The Melbourne-based company has ordered 42 dual outlet Kempower C-Stations, which can charge one or two vehicles at a time. When charging one vehicle, the maximum charge rate is 150kW. When charging two vehicles, this rate is halved to 75kW.
The Kempower C-Station chargers will be powered by West Australia energy providers Synergy and Horizon. All in all, there will be 49 locations no more than 200km apart once the network is completed.
It won’t be a moment too soon. There are increasing numbers of electric vehicle owners and road trippers undertaking lengths of the journey, highlighting the dearth of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in remote areas of south-east and northern WA.
One example is EV-curious Mick O’Donnell, a self-proclaimed “EV novice” whose short format video series which most recently documented he and his partner crossing the Nullarbor amid various charging challenges. You can follow his video series here.
Another example at the other end of the EV ownership spectrum is the journey currently being undertaken by Tesla Owner’s Club of WA executive members Harald Murphy and Pete Petrovsky, who are in the midst of doing the “big lap” in opposite directions in their brand new Telsa Model Ys.
A key message of this trip is the sparse charging infrastructure, and in particular how little movement there has been I remote EV charging landscape since Murphy first did the big lap in 2019.
Key to the appointment of Kempower’s C-Stations are the “robust design, dynamic power management, high voltage and practical driver interface experience” offered by the units (according to the company.
The units are also of modular design which means they can be added to as time goes on, thus futureproofing the network.
Due for completion by early 2024, it is thought that much of the network will be operational by the end of 2023.
This article has been updated to clarify Jetcharge will supply the hardware for the network.
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.
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