Really long EV road trips are actually not that hard – with better route planning

I gave a tutorial on A Better Route Planner (ABRP) at a recent meeting of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, showing all of the key features and how to use it for planning multi-day trips.

There were a few oohs and aahs from the audience as I showed some clever features like including wind speed and direction in trip plans, and avoiding charging stations with only one charger. There was also a lot of surprise at how fast some long distance trips have become in Australia.

This got me thinking about planning a few really long trips in ABRP and seeing what the DC charging network is like these days to reach places I might not normally drive to. We all know someone who thinks they need to drive non-stop from the east coast to Perth, so I even considered that journey!

These trips were all planned with ABRP set to my car model (Hyundai IONIQ 5 long range rear wheel drive). It assumes I leave Canberra with a 100% charge and ensures that I arrive at the final destination with at least 10% charge.

I have also told ABRP to tell me if any legs need to be driven at less than the signposted speed to reach the next charger rather than telling me that the trip is not possible.

All of these journeys bar one assume non-stop driving. Of course, it’s usually only the people who want to drive to Perth tomorrow that would consider doing it non-stop. (Ed: And safety regulators recommend a stop every two hours!).

The final journey I’ve planned factors in some overnight stops with charging. This shows how much charging time this saves on the road (as well as possibly saving your life).

Hawthorn, VIC to Alexandria, NSW (3 stops, totalling 27 mins)

This is a re-creation of the trip completed by CarExpert last year. The CarExpert team did lots of charges to 100%, which slowed the trip considerably. Instead, we’ve planned it like an experienced EV driver who charges to 100% before departure and is happy to arrive with 10%, knowing that there is usually destination charging available or that fast charging can be done later.

I reject the idea that it’s a valid comparison to drive an EV like an ICE car. They are different technologies, mainly owing to their different fuelling rates. It’s not unreasonable to expect people to learn to operate them differently in order to save a couple of hours on a road trip.

This journey involves three stops: Wodonga for just 6 mins, Tarcutta for 15 mins and Yass for 6 mins.

Canberra to Melbourne (1 stop for 13 mins)

This journey is getting easier all the time. Now just one stop at Barnawatha North.

Canberra to Brisbane (4 stops, 43 minutes)

This is a fast route up the east coast to Brisbane. Four stops are required: North Paramatta (5 mins), Karuah (10 mins), Thrumster (15 mins) and Tyndale (13 mins). The charging stops are 1.5 to three hours apart, perfect for recommended breaks.

Canberra to Cairns (13 stops, 157 mins)

Let’s keep going north! A total of 2,500 km from Canberra to Cairns requires 13 stops. This adds 2 ½ hours to a 29 ½ hour trip, should you attempt it without stopping overnight. Most stops are 5-15 minutes long with one 24 minute stop.

Canberra to Adelaide (4 stops, 43 minutes)

This is a trip that has got a lot easier in recent years. Three years ago, it was faster to get to Adelaide via central Victoria than it was to cross the Hay Plain due to faster charging in Victoria. Now, ABRP recommends stopping in Wagga Wagga (9 mins), Hay (16 mins), Ouyen (8 mins) and Pinaroo (10 mins). Barely time to fill your coffee order, I’d suggest.

Canberra to Broken Hill (42 mins, 3 stops)

This route came as a bit of a surprise. Only 42 minutes of charging on top of an 11 hour trip. Charging stops are required at Wagga Wagga (9 mins), Hay (16 mins) and Mildura (18 mins).

Now let’s look at some really big trips.

Canberra to Perth (8 h 6 mins, 15 stops)

This is surely a long drive by anyone’s definition, even for those with bionic bladders. Most of the 15 stops on this trip require between 10 and 20 minutes of charging. There are a few aspects of this trip to note. First, ABRP tells me that three legs have to be done at reduced speed due to the  distances between chargers (Nullarbor to Madura at 90 km/h, Madura to Balladonia at 90 km/h, and Southern Cross to Perth at 100 km/h).

Second, it’s still somewhat pioneer territory out on the Nullarbor. Charging at Madura and Balladonia currently uses crowdfunded 22kW DC chargers (with faster chargers on the way). This adds three hours charging at Madura and two hours at Balladonia.

Canberra to Darwin (13 h 28 mins, 17 stops)

This is a huge trip at over 4,000 km and more than 50 hours of non-stop driving. Most of the charging stops are short, particularly while in the more populated states. The big hiccup on this route is that a 5 h 50 min charging stop is required at Marla SA where the charging is only 7kW. Perhaps this is a good place to stop overnight.

Like the Perth route, there are also a few speed advisories: Alice Springs to Barrow Creek (don’t exceed 110 km/h), Elliot to Mataranka (110 km/h), and Katherine to Darwin (120 km/h).

In my experience, ABRP is quite conservative and you may be able to ignore these. Importantly, if a good off-grid DC fast charger could be installed in Marla, that would shave at least five hours off the total charging time.

Canberra to Darwin with three overnight stops (8 h 50mins, 14 stops)

For the Darwin trip, let’s assume 1,000 km of driving per day with overnight stops. Even 1,000 km in a day is a huge amount of driving, so even more stopping is likely required than I have planned for here.

I have added stops in ABRP at Renmark, Coober Pedy and Davenport NT. I’ve assumed that the car can be recharged overnight at accommodation to leave with a 100% charge the next day.

This cuts roadside charging time by about 4 ½ hours down to 8 h 50 mins. With a DC charger in Marla, this would bring the total roadside charging time down to under four hours. Incredible!

Ben Elliston is the chair of the ACT branch of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association.