Public hospital installs six EV fast chargers adjacent to emergency department

The Royal Adelaide Hospital has installed half-a-dozen rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargers for use by patients, visitors, and staff, marking a first for public hospitals in South Australia.

The total of six charging bays with six rapid 150kW EV charger units are located directly adjacent the hospital’s Emergency Department entrance, with one of the charging units located within an accessible parking bay.

The project was completed this week in partnership with global renewable energy giant Engie and local EV companies Jet Charge and Chargefox.

“Anyone travelling to the RAH will be able to charge their EVs while visiting patients or accessing the emergency department facilities,” said Di Mantell, CEO of Celsus, the consortium that manages and maintains the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

“We also anticipate hospital staff will make use of the new facilities.

“The charging bays sit within our Park & Pay public parking area, which has a two-hour time limit. The rapid charging units can fully recharge the average EV in 30 to 60 minutes, so there will be plenty of time to charge and go.”

Installation of the EV chargers was backed by global renewable energy company Engie, which has so far installed around 200 EV charge points across Australia since the beginning of 2023.

“It’s important to place EV charging infrastructure in convenient locations where people will be parked for up to two hours and we’re pleased to be able to help take some of the stress out of a hospital visit by allowing EV drivers to charge cars while receiving treatment or visiting loved ones,” said Greg Schumann, director of green mobility for Engie ANZ.

Electric vehicle owners looking to charge at the Royal Adelaide Hospital will need to download the Chargefox app to find, use, and pay for charging. Five of the chargers feature CCS-Type 2 connections, while a single charger uses a CHAdeMO connection.

“Hospitals are a great location for rapid chargers,” Christopher Munnings, Engie Australia’s technical director of green mobility, said on LinkedIn.

“I remember years ago before my son grew out of his asthma (or rather grew out of needing to go to emergency regularly with his asthma) I was always worried about making sure the car was charged so I could get to and from the hospital.

“It feels really good to take that concern away for a big group of people in Adelaide. It’s stressful enough to go to hospital without having to then hyper-mile it to the nearest rapid charger before heading home.”