Lendlease to install 80 EV charging stations for shoppers and tenants

Australian construction company Lendlease is set to install electric vehicle charging stations across its main retail and office districts to meet growing customer demand, and amid forecasts for a sharp rise in EV sales.

The company says it will install around 80 charging stations – up to around 22kW – over the coming months for use by customers and tenants of its facilities.

Everty, a leading EV charging technology company, has been contracted to supply and roll out the charging stations which include its management software and easy-to-use driver-charging station operator interfaces.

As of January 2022, there were only about 3,000 public EV charging points in Australia, Australasian Fleet Management Association figures show. About 700 more fast and “ultra-rapid” stations (300kW+) are planned for development within the next five years.

The Lendlease chargers will be available at 16 commercial and office precincts, including the large-scale Barangaroo and Darling Square districts in Sydney and Melbourne Quarter in Victoria.

Shopping centres including Macarthur Square and Erina Fair in New South Wales, Sunshine Plaza in Queensland and Lakeside Joondalup in Western Australia are also earmarked for charging stations.

Office tenants and retail visitors will be able to schedule charging sessions, control power output, access charging session records and adjust solar self-consumption levels through the initiative.

“Customer demand for EV vehicles is on the rise and this initiative will future-proof our commercial and retail assets to ensure we have the appropriate electric car charging infrastructure, with the ability to adapt the technology as required,” Lendlease investment management  Australia managing director Vanessa Orth said in a statement.

“We remain forward-thinking on introducing key sustainability-focused infrastructure within our developments to ensure our assets are adaptable now and into the future to meet our customer needs, while accelerating us on our pathway to achieving absolute zero carbon by 2040.”

Everty CEO and founder Carola Jonas says EV drivers need access to charging infrastructure at work, at the
shops, and in many other places, as uptake increases.

“This is an important step as we move to future-proof buildings,” Jonas said.

“The transition to EVs is inevitable and we are excited to work with progressive companies like Lendlease to deliver the EV charging infrastructure of the future.”

In July, Evie Networks partnered with retail developer AMP Capital to roll out charging stations at 16 major shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand.