Australian EV company EVX has announced plans to install 1,000 kerbside charging points across Australia in the next 24 months, in collaboration with UK EV charging company Connected Kerb.
The company says the first units will be ready for use by the public in the first quarter of 2023.
A lack of kerbside charging is perceived as one of the biggest barriers to EV uptake, in particular for people who live in apartment blocks and cannot install chargers in their own carports.
Such a network, if delivered, could be a game changer for Australian EV drivers who must currently charge their vehicles either at home or at their place of work if provided.
While there were just 20,000 EVs sold in Australia in 2021, making up about 2% of new car sales, projections suggest nine out of ten cars sold in 2030 will be battery electric. It is believed that EV sales will likely have doubled in 2022.
Kerbside charging
Australia has just a handful of kerbside charging unit trials underway, and even fewer actual units installed.
These include a kerbside unit launched by Port Philip Council earlier this year, and an Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)-funded trial with plans to install fifty charging points attached to kerbside power poles across nine local council areas in NSW.
Connected Kerb’s charging units are different from traditional charging points, with a two-part system composed of an above-ground charge point socket that can be neatly fitted into a structure like a bollard, while the power and data pack, the ‘brains’, are sunk below ground in a protective steel box.
The company already has 10,000 kerbside charging points across the UK.
EVX says this latest development will help councils, fleet management companies and other commercial spaces access robust EV charging stations without the need to install additional infrastructure or substations.
Public charging for everyone who needs it
EVX co-founder Sean McGinty says kerbside charging is needed if Australians are going to be able to take up EVs in a meaningful way.
“I think there needs to be a mindset shift,” McGinty says. “Australians have been used to getting fuel for their vehicles in an instant but as we transition to EVs at scale, EV charging infrastructure needs to serve both fast and long-dwell scenarios.”
“We understand the availability of public EV charging points is one of the primary barriers to making the transition away from petrol or diesel-powered cars towards electric vehicles, and we’ve made it our mission to take the lead in removing this barrier here in Australia,” says Andrew Forster, EVX’s CEO.
“EVX’s mission is to deliver affordable and robust public charging infrastructure, for everyone that needs it. Given the rapid adoption of EV’s in urban areas, we expect EVX’s existing and future solutions to become more heavily utilised as we roll out this critical infrastructure.”