ARENA/NRMA national fast charging network

[moa999]

Are the Yurika sites shown on the map in Qld? (although that was State money not Federal)

 

[leonk]

that last map is clearly a dodgy 7 news graphic, since it doesn’t match the physical.
Compare both around Mildura in north west Victoria.

 

[Erasmuz]

National EV Charging Network​

As part of the Driving The Nation Fund, the government is partnering with the NRMA to deliver a ‘backbone’ National EV charging network. There will be 117 electric vehicle charging stations on key highway routes across Australia at an average interval of 150kms, connecting all capital cities.

Just a curiosity for those of us out West, the maps include all the WA State Funded EV Network locations and I don't think we have anything to do with the NRMA over here? Or are my wires crossed?

 

[moa999]

Maybe something in what sites have been given a town name - eg. Very few in WA other than those near the SA border those in SA and NT.

But then in Qld, Barcaldine, Roma are on the QESH list.

 

[Chuq]

Found a video on Chris Bowen's FB page, unfortunately it's a shitty vertical video so I had to screen capture it a few times and merge the images to get anything vaguely useful... anyway, here it is.

The 7 News graphic is very clearly attempting to portray the exact same locations, the density of dots matches up, but as @leonk says, pretty poorly.

 

[Chuq]

Just a curiosity for those of us out West, the maps include all the WA State Funded EV Network locations and I don't think we have anything to do with the NRMA over here? Or are my wires crossed?

Maybe something in what sites have been given a town name - eg. Very few in WA other than those near the SA border those in SA and NT.

Agreed, One one hand - it is strange that they would essentially duplicate a many thousand kilometre long stretch. I would hope they focus on the most underserved locations first (e.g. NT first priority, they currently have nothing.. then the SA sites, where the SA was too dumb to install anything except Type 2... then the Qld sites that are single 50 kW stalls). WA is going all CCS2, 2x 150 kW units shared between up to 4 cars, it's a pretty robust system.

On the other hand.. EV take-up has gone from ~2% to nearly 7% in 12 months... it's going to be 15%-25% before we know it and we are going to *need* two different sites in each of those towns... and the same across the rest of the national highway.

I haven't done the analysis of overlaying the maps and seeing where the unlabelled dots are ... yet!

 

[Speedst3r]

WA is going all CCS2, 2x 150 kW units shared between up to 4 cars, it's a pretty robust system.

That's not at every location, only some of the locations in the Synergy footprint. Most sites will have a single DC unit (75 or 150kW) with two CCS2 and a 7.6kW AC Type 2.

 

[Chuq]

That's not at every location, only some of the locations in the Synergy footprint.

Good point.

Also Bowen's map has the WA border in the wrong spot, which makes me wonder if I should waste any more time on it

 

[scully]

So the fed gov is just chucking in 40 mil to fill in the gaps in the state systems. The NRMA want us to be able to do a whole lap of the continent on their own network. I admire the plucky attitude of a state based group. They have made previous incursions into SA and VIC, so why not keep going

 

[scully]

There should be some good rental deals with sixt too. All you can eat charging. They just need some little ev camper vans

 

[Erasmuz]

Agreed, One one hand - it is strange that they would essentially duplicate a many thousand kilometre long stretch. I would hope they focus on the most underserved locations first (e.g. NT first priority, they currently have nothing.. then the SA sites, where the SA was too dumb to install anything except Type 2... then the Qld sites that are single 50 kW stalls). WA is going all CCS2, 2x 150 kW units shared between up to 4 cars, it's a pretty robust system.

I doubt they are planning to install chargers right next to all the WA State Funded chargers that are being built at the moment, so would it be a stretch to say this map is quite misleading & suggests they're investing a lot into WA - which they are not. Taking credit for the WA State Governments efforts? Don't get me wrong, I'm super looking forward to this infrastructure being out there, but printing a map with markers all over places you have no intention to spend a dime is a bit wrong.

 

[cafz]

I doubt they are planning to install chargers right next to all the WA State Funded chargers that are being built at the moment,

It's quite possible they are (and the same for Queensland which looks like a a double-up of many QESH sites). I think if multiple groups look at regional WA, inland Queensland, South Australia or the Northern Territory and try to figure out where makes sense to install charging, they're just going to come up with very similar maps.

 

[Chuq]

I doubt they are planning to install chargers right next to all the WA State Funded chargers that are being built at the moment, so would it be a stretch to say this map is quite misleading & suggests they're investing a lot into WA - which they are not. Taking credit for the WA State Governments efforts? Don't get me wrong, I'm super looking forward to this infrastructure being out there, but printing a map with markers all over places you have no intention to spend a dime is a bit wrong.

Of course I don't have any inside info but I've fairly sure they're not just doing that. They've listed "Operational sites", "Planned sites" and "Planned sites with Federal Partnership contribution" as separate markers on the map so they've specifically called out the federal government funding there.

Also if you overlay the maps you can see the locations don't line up exactly. North of Perth, the WA plan has 26 locations and the Fed plan has 22. WA includes off highway locations like Exmouth. The density of locations varies in different parts - Federal plan looks like it has places like Hamelin Pool and Durack covered.

Small cities like Geraldton, Broome and Port Hedland are probably justified in having 2x different fast charging sites. Remember they take ~2 years from announcement to activation - they'll probably need two each by that point.

I'm not sure what they're going to at locations such as highway roadhouses for example. Not really a lot of potential for a second site.

The example I'm most familiar with - the Tassie sites. Two new sites planned - one clearly labelled as Ross, one unlabelled, but somewhere in the north-west between Latrobe and Elizabeth Town. On the 326 km of Highway 1 in Tasmania, these are the most obvious gaps and they appear to be intentionally not overlapping existing sites.

 

[Davemcd]

good news 4x75kw on each site. Hopefully they get a support network setup for when they break.
Be better then what I saw Vic Gov do pretty sure was one 50kw in regional areas. Was one coming soon Wonthaggi which be great as nothing there now. RACV Inverloch all there is around there.

 

[Chuq]

At last a news story...

No Cookies | Townsville Bulletin

Aussie EV drivers will soon benefit from nation-wide fast charging program

Aussie electric vehicle drivers are in for a major change thanks to a $39.3 million federally-funded program. See why and what it means.

David McCowen
April 26, 2023 - 12:52PM

Electric car owners will be able to drive from Adelaide to Alice Springs, cross the Nullarbor, and run from Tasmania to Far North Queensland without stressing about charging, thanks to a new network coming to Australian roads.

A Federally funded program working with the NRMA to put 117 fast chargers on Australian highways will bring an end to “range anxiety”, according to Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.

“EVs aren’t just for the cities, and Australians who drive long distances either for work or for holidays should be able to reap the benefits of cars that are cheaper and cleaner to run,” he said.

“We’re making range anxiety a thing of the past. This project will help close the gaps and known black spots in the network and make it possible to drive from Darwin to Perth, Broken Hill to Adelaide, and from Brisbane to Tennant Creek in the NT.

“This national rollout will help put more Australians in the driver’s seat of cheaper and cleaner cars.”

The Federal Government’s “Driving the Nation” fund will spend $39.3 million ensuring electric car chargers are placed at 150 kilometre intervals on national highways.

Full technical details – including the charging speed of the network – have not been released.

The NRMA will be using purpose built charger models for various public charging locations depending upon environmental conditions, location and power availability, sourcing chargers from manufacturers including Tritium, Kempower and ABB.

A spokesman for the organisation said plug power for the public charging locations “will initially range from 75kW to around 300kW”.

The fastest chargers currently used in Australia can add around 300 kilometres of range in about 20 minutes to high-end electric cars with more than 500 kilometres of range.

Cheaper models such as the Nissan Leaf, that can’t handle the flow of energy at need about an hour to add around 200 kilometres of range.

Mr Bowen drives a Tesla Model 3 – Australia’s most popular electric car.

Priced from about $64,000 drive-away, the Tesla offers around 491 kilometres of driving range.

Tesla has a widespread “Supercharger” network that is not available to owners of other electric cars.

Carly Irving-Dolan, NRMA chief executive for energy and infrastructure, said the network would be the charging backbone of Australia.

“The NRMA is excited to be partnering with the Australian Government to grow our regional network of fast charging stations across the country because we fundamentally believe that regional Australia should not be left behind,” she said.

“Australia’s expansive landscape presents some unique and local challenges to ensure that we are ready for more electric vehicles on our roads.

“NRMA has over 100 years’ experience helping Australia address transport challenges and we are committed to building on this work through this national charging network.”

And a better map.. even if it's a bit JPG-ey.

 

[Chuq]

Looks like more than 117 sites marked? Just the green dots.

Many names are just guesses.

I haven't double checked this. If you are checking it make sure you note some border locations are off.

 

[Chuq]

And as soon as I spend time doing that ...

Electric vehicle hotspots include 131 regional towns

Electric vehicle drivers will get a boost from another 117 fast-charging locations along major Australian highways over the next two years in a $78.6 million deal designed to address "known black spots".

au.news.yahoo.com

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told AAP the company had identified 131 towns as possible locations for the charging stations to create an electric car-charging backbone for the country.

The selected locations include 32 Queensland towns, 29 in Western Australia, 26 in NSW, 19 in South Australia, 15 in the Northern Territory, seven in Victoria, two in Tasmania and one in the ACT.

 

[moa999]

And on timing

While federal funding had been allocated over five years, Mr Khoury said NRMA would aim to install vehicle chargers over the next two years and would work with local councils and businesses to identify the most appropriate locations.

 

[rx80]

Has it been confirmed each site to have 4x75kw (presumably 2x Chademo + 2x CCS2)?

 

[Chuq]

... and now the list of names has been published!

NRMA gets funding for 117 new fast-charging stations across Australia

Federal government has announced a new national fast-charging network allowing Australian EV owners to travel further without range anxiety.

thedriven.io