Over 400 electric vehicle charging stations set to roll out nationally

More than 400 new fast-charging electric vehicle (EV) stations are set to roll out across the National Highway, after the applicants for the first round of funding from the government’s Future Fuels Fund were revealed.

Five applicants have been chosen to fulfil the first stage of this government initiative, which recently saw a funding boost of $8.05 million, to deliver a total of 403 new EV fast-charging stations.

Evie Networks, Ampol, Engie, Chargefox and Electric Highways Australia will share in $24.5 million in total funding to increase the number of existing charging stations in Australia seven-fold.

The boosted funding came after the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) noted not only the large number of applicants to take part in the first funding round of the EV network build, but also the high merit of applicants. ARENA provided the additional $8.05 million.

The Future Fuels Fund is a government initiative introduced in the 2020-2021 federal budget to help remove the barriers around accessing EVs in Australia and encourage an uptake of the vehicles. 

The Future Fuels Fund plans to build a network of fast-charging stations across 14 of Australia’s most populated cities, as well as regional centres such as Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Sunshine Coast. The latter have been targeted in order to drive the uptake of EVs in regional areas. 

With even more funding now available, the charging network could be significantly expanded upon, hopefully removing some of the barriers around EV uptake, ARENA CEO Darren Miller said. 

“As the costs of electric vehicles come down, more consumers and fleet users are looking to go electric,” he said. “Expanding the fast-charging network will make it easier than ever to drive an EV in Australia. The proposals we received were of such high quality, we were compelled to increase the funding. We’re delighted to be able to support more than 400 charging stations across the country.”

Evie Networks, which received the most funding at $8.8 million, is expected to deliver 158 of these stations across eight regions, with Ampol and Engie – the company that owns Simply Energy – delivering 121 and 103 stations respectively across four regions. Each charging station will be capable of charging at least two EV vehicles, simultaneously.

This first round of funding from the Future Fuel Fund aims to support the growing use of EVs by establishing a charging network across all large capital and regional cities. 

Future funding rounds will focus more on driving EV uptake, particularly in regional areas, by increasing charging capabilities in these locations, and on the use of hydrogen and biofuels in the transport sector. 

What is the current state of Australia’s EV charging network?

According to the Electric Vehicle Council, Australia currently has fewer than 2,500 public charging stations available to EV drivers, only about 350 of which are fast-charging. The stations are often few and far between, and while an uptick in providing these stations has been seen in recent years from the private sector, many motorists still identify the lack of charging stations as a real barrier for them when using an EV. 

The proposed standardised charging network, which will be in close proximity to the National Highway, is anticipated to help overcome these barriers.

Between 70-100 per cent of new vehicle sales are projected to be of electric vehicles by 2040, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.

EV Energy Plans

In the meantime, if you are an EV driver and you’re looking for a little extra savings when it comes to charging your vehicle at home, check out some of these EV specific electricity plans from Red Energy and AGL.

Red Energy EV Plans

AGL EV Plans

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