Tired of waiting for Australian authorities and business to do so, a group of savvy electric vehicle owners has helped complete a charging network that now allows any EV driver to travel around the entire country.
Established by the Tesla Owners Club of Australia (TOCA) and the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA), the Round Australia Electric Highway (RAEH) was completed last month.
It spans almost 17,000km and not only circumnavigates the coast of Australia (roughly via Highway 1) but bisects it north to south via the Stuart Highway.
The average distance between charging outlets is 200km and most are spaced no more than 300km apart, but as of now there are still four sites up to 400km apart, making these stretches suitable only for Tesla Model S and Model X owners who drive very slowly.
TOCA says 10,000km of interstate highway is now covered by 32-amp three-phase outlets that offer a minimum available charge rate of 100km per hour (70km/h at a limited number of pre-existing 20A sites).
These can be used by all types of EVs with a three-phase charging cable, and just two ‘slow-charging’ outlets (10A domestic and 15A caravan park-style single-phase outlets) remain on the Stuart Highway.
These aren’t suitable for road trips because they only charge at the rate of 10-15km/h, which can result in charging times of 24 to 40 hours for a long-range EV. However, TOCA says the Red Centre route will be all three-phase by the end of this year.
Tesla – the only car-maker to offer 300km-plus long-range EVs so far – claims to offer Australia’s largest EV fast-charging network, with 20 ‘Supercharger’ sites linking Adelaide to Brisbane via Sydney and Melbourne.
A further 18 Tesla Superchargers, which can half-charge an EV battery in 30 minutes, are planned within the next 18 months.
These are backed by the Tesla Destination Charging Network, which comprises more than 500 wall connectors, which deliver the same charge as a 32A three-phase outlet, at hotels, resorts, shopping centres and secure car parks around Australia.
Tesla says the vast majority of its owners charge their cars via similar outlets at home, where they can pay as little as $365/year for unlimited mileage with some electricity suppliers. It claims the introduction of workplace charging will satisfy those who live in an apartment, have no off-street parking or drive a work fleet car.
Drivers of other EVs, however, cannot ‘fill up’ at a Tesla Supercharger or Destination Charger.
And apart from a handful of DC fast-chargers around the country and BMW-sponsored outlets at Westfield shopping centres, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is the only other car-maker to commit to a fast-charge network, in preparation for its first EV, the I-PACE, due on sale here in October.
JLR says it will spend $4 million to open 150 EV stations with 100kW DC chargers provided by Jet Charge at its dealerships around Australia.
Meantime, the ACT government has committed to installing 50 dual EV chargers across government sites in Canberra, as part of its shift to zero-emissions government vehicles by 2022.
However, Queensland is the only Australian state to establish a network of fast-charge outlets. In its first phase, the Queensland Electric Super Highway now spans the coast from Coolangatta to Cairns, and links Toowoomba to Brisbane – for free.
The reason for the slow rollout of fast-chargers in Australia is cost and – so far – lack of demand.
Typically, because they convert mains AC into battery-friendly DC power at a high rate, charging at the rate of 250-500km/h and filling a battery in an hour or two, DC fast-chargers cost more than $100,000 to install.
Until fast-chargers become widespread, TOCA says its 32A charging network is designed to encourage the take-up of EVs, spur more government investment in charging infrastructure and to fill the gaps, by giving drivers of all EVs the ability to travel around much of the country.
In remote West Australia, for example, more than 70 charge points were installed in towns and roadhouses on major routes in the south and east with the support of Synergy, the state’s largest power retailer. In the north, regional supplier Horizon Power contributed to the installation of three-phase outlets in the Kimberley.
To further grow the RAEH network, TOCA and AEVA is offering a free 32A three-phase electrical outlet to any property owner that will help reduce charging distance intervals to less than 300km on either the Round Australia or Red Centre routes.
The only catch is they must install the outlet promptly at an accessible location and allow drivers of EVs to charge their cars at the site.
For more information go to the TOCA website or visit Plugshare, the accepted EV charging map for Australia.