Petrol giant invests in Australian start-up with a “smart” home EV charger

Australia’s largest petrol retailer will make a significant investment in the electric vehicle market after signing a deal with a Brisbane start-up to deliver in-home charging equipment.

Ampol announced its partnership with EVOS on Wednesday, revealing it would become the exclusive distributor of the company’s first Australian-made home charger when it is released later in 2023.

The company will sell EV equipment directly to consumers and potentially through partners such as automotive brand BYD.

Ampol is also investing in public charging points at its petrol stations and intends to install 300 charging bays by 2024.

EVOS unveiled its first home charger at Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art, showing off a seven kilowatt, wall-mounted device designed to add up to 35km of range to an electric vehicle for every hour it’s plugged in.

Chief executive Marcelo Salgado said the SB7 charger would withstand sun and water, connect to an app, and could be programmed to charge vehicles with solar power or during off-peak periods.

“We asked ourselves what the EV owner needs from a charger,” he said.

“It has to be easy to install with no restrictions as to where it can go on a property, be easy to monitor remotely and help them manage their costs in an era when everyone is concerned with energy prices.

“And it has to look good.”

The charger, which was designed and will be manufactured in Australia, is the first EVOS equipment designed for consumers after the company released a 22 kilowatt charger for business fleets in 2021.

Ampol energy general manager James Myatt said the company had become “acutely away that our customer’s needs are changing” and moved into electricity distribution last year.

Its deal with EVOS would help meet the needs of customers who planned to power up their vehicles outside service stations in future.

“The technology allows us to support customers wherever their journey is, whether they’re starting their journey at home, on the road, wherever they park their cars, or on the way home from work,” he said.

“If people are going to need charging at home, we want to provide the infrastructure to do that.”

The charger was expected to launch between September and October, although its price had yet to be determined.

Ampol moved into electricity distribution in 2022.

It has deployed 40 electric vehicle charging bays in 17 petrol stations across Australia.

Rival brand BP has committed to developing 600 charging points in Australia by the end of 2025 and has installed 42 since October 2022.

AAP