Evie EV charging networks

[Chuq]

Why are they still doing single stall sites in 2023?

It's what the DCAV funding was for. They got 55 sites.

I would've thought it'd be more useful to have 27 two-stall sites, or 18 three-stall sites...

The potential advantage here is that Evie has "secured" agreements at 55 different locations. Getting the site set up is the hard part, adding stalls is relatively quick That's just in theory though - the likelihood is that they haven't done this. (Although it's not impossible - some of their sites, or example, show 6 or 4 stalls in their DAs, but 2 stalls is the "first stage")

It's crazy how quickly the fast charging issue has shifted from "there are no stations in this area" to "the stations in this area are not coping with demand.

 

[leonk]

Why are they still doing single stall sites in 2023?

Same reason they're still adding Chademo.
That's what the agreement was for.

 

[SPadival]

Why are they still doing single stall sites in 2023?

Dan is having budget issues..

 

[mukaibot]

While nothing would prevent installation of more than one stall, I've also read that the various charging networks are yet to turn a profit. These businesses are very much still in the early startup days, because the business model has not yet been proven. I imagine that as EV adoption continues to grow, we will see charging networks expand the capacity of existing infrastructure.

There's probably a bit of money to be made if a competitor can co-locate a larger site next to popular single site too, but I reckon that requires a level of data and analytics that these business don't yet have.

The most frustrating part of all this is that chademo is given equal opportunity to CCS with only a fraction of new cars working with this less popular standard.

 

[Vostok]

The most frustrating part of all this is that chademo is given equal opportunity to CCS with only a fraction of new cars working with this less popular standard.

I don’t know about other states, but in NSW an increasing number of sites are being built that are CCS2 only.

 

[PC__LoadLetter]

I don’t know about other states, but in NSW an increasing number of sites are being built that are CCS2 only.

Mostly BP sites, which aren't government funded & thus aren't constrained by government specifications. They decide whether to include CHAdeMO based on whether there's an existing CHAdeMO plug nearby (though Revesby seems a huge exception being, what, a kilometre from Evie at Bankstown?).

Evie at Frenchs Forest is the big exception that comes to mind.

 

[Chuq]

Mostly BP sites, which aren't government funded & thus aren't constrained by government specifications. They decide whether to include CHAdeMO based on whether there's an existing CHAdeMO plug nearby (though Revesby seems a huge exception being, what, a kilometre from Evie at Bankstown?).

Evie at Frenchs Forest is the big exception that comes to mind.

I believe there are some Engie installs that are dual CCS as well.

Edit: Following on from one of their ARENA "Lessons Learnt" responses - https://arena.gov.au/assets/2022/05/engie-future-fuels-public-fast-charging-lessons-learnt-1.pdf

Lesson Learnt #2: Low uptake of the Chademo standard within Australia

Category: Technical, Economic

There are 2 main DC charging standard types that are used within Australia, CCS type 2 and Chademo. Recent announcements of new vehicle releases for Australia are heavily favouring the CCS type 2 standard with only Nissan, Mitsubishi and Lexus offering vehicles with this charging standard. Tesla also offer a product that allows the charging of their vehicles via an adapter. This leads to more than 80% of the market being equipped with the CCS charging standard. ENGIE is committed to supporting all EV drivers and is technology agnostic. However, the disparity in adoption between the 2 standards makes it challenging to provide cost effective charging solutions as inevitably the Chademo charging connection is underutilised.

ENGIE are exploring options to be able to cost effectively provide additional capacity at sites for CCS equipped vehicles whilst still supporting Chademo vehicles. This inevitably results in the provision of additional CCS bays.

It is unclear if manufacturers will continue to support Chademo in the future or if manufacturers will offer Chademo to CCS adapters equivalent to the Tesla to Chademo adapter. ENGIE will continue to monitor the use of each charging standard and look to evolve it’s network as the market develops.

 

[Lachlan Smith]

Evie is the only not Tesla charging network with 4+ CCS2 plugs at 50 kW+ (Sutton Forest) in NSW on plugshare (there are others in other states). The other networks have to actually install more DCFC stalls.

 

[RichardV]

Evie is the only not Tesla charging network with 4+ CCS2 plugs at 50 kW+ (Sutton Forest) in NSW on plugshare (there are others in other states). The other networks have to actually install more DCFC stalls.

Ampol has 6xCCS2 at Pheasants Nest Southbound, soon to be 6xCCS2 on the other side there also.
BP has a 4xCCS2 at Ingleburn.

 

[Lachlan Smith]

Looks like plugshare actually filters by stations not plugs.

 

[B3AU]

Looks like plugshare actually filters by stations not plugs.

I am not a fan of their new filtering system.

 

[Vostok]

I am not a fan of their new filtering system.

Plugshare unfortunately is really going down the gurgler. Their new naming system for collocated charging sites by different operators is terrible, and makes it even more likely that the few remaining drivers who bother to check-in pick the wrong station on the map.

Plugshare was one of those great innovations in the wild west days of EV adoption when we were all part of a truly exciting and almost completely unknown frontier, but these days it is rapidly becoming unloved and uncared for.

 

[Vostok]

Mostly BP sites, which aren't government funded & thus aren't constrained by government specifications.

If you carefully read the NSW Government fast charger grant rules, CHAdeMO is not actually mandatory at a site. The NSW rules state that “Charging bays are expected to be equipped with FCAI recommended DC charging types, which is either CHAdeMO or CCS Type 2”. There is no requirement to have both, so CCS2-only sites are perfectly compliant.

I’ve also noticed that the administration of NSW’s scheme has been, shall we say, quite “flexible“ and certain requirements that were mandatory or highly encouraged must have been negotiated away by the successful applicants (e.g., tap-and-pay credit card options, Opal card support, AC backup chargers).

 

[moa999]

Not that we've seen many NSW Govt funded sites yet, and they don't get the first major milestone payment until reaching 30% rollout.

I wouldn't be surprised if the new HW4 unit seen at Goodwood (with CC terminal) turns up as a retrofit at existing sites for a handful of stalls.

So say at Figtree - you might have four dedicated Tesla (or Tesla network which in the future includes Ford, GM, Merc etc) and two general use that have longer CCS2 cables and a payment terminal.

 

[OzVic]

Plugshare unfortunately is really going down the gurgler. Their new naming system for collocated charging sites by different operators is terrible, and makes it even more likely that the few remaining drivers who bother to check-in pick the wrong station on the map.

Plugshare was one of those great innovations in the wild west days of EV adoption when we were all part of a truly exciting and almost completely unknown frontier, but these days it is rapidly becoming unloved and uncared for.

Works pretty well for the "Wallsend Car Park" site (2 RTM75's running at 50kW each) .. which is 99% of my care value.

I'd guesstimate 80% of people check-in, including when they're waiting, which is helpful as it's always busy. Someone has put a helpful Plugshare sticker on them too (to NRMA's chagrin) which has helped a lot. It explains the benefits of check-in's for newbies trying out the station for the first time and has links to the two app stores.

 

[SPadival]

Randomly turned up on my FB feed

PS: Have fun reading the comments from the braindead luddites

https://www.facebook.com/100069079994706/posts/605498641762797

 

[B3AU]

Evie have rolled out their (much better) app - annoyingly it's a brand new app, not an 'update' to their existing app.

iOS - ‎Evie Charging (New)
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goevie.goevie_app

 

[moa999]

Article on the new app. No longer an EVConnect white label.

https://techau.com.au/setup-tips-and-photos-new-app-for-evie-networks-ev-charging-uninstall-the-old-one/

 

[mukaibot]

I've just installed it, it's pretty slick setup, ported over both my credit card and RFID card. Pretty seamless

 

[Vostok]

Nice. I like!

Using GPS to identify which station you are at to simplify the charging experience is such an obvious thing to do. Why others haven’t done it before is mysterious (someone’s gotta be first, right ).

(Plugshare should do likewise, barring individuals from creating new sites (verified network operators exempted), checking in, making comments, or uploading photos unless their locations services say they are actually within 100m of the location they claim to be at)

Evie also supports ApplePay now, which I don’t think they did prior? . And the App refers to “plan memberships” and discounts if you tap on a plug so clearly that is something Evie plans to introduce.

Some other things I noticed: green icons on the map for sites that have plugs available, 3 lightning bolts to indicate 350kW stations, blue icons when a site is fully occupied, grey icons if a site is offline.

Zoom on out the map and Evie has a seriously impressive looking network now on the east coast, especially in VIC. I doff my cap to you Evie, good work!

My one remaining irritation is that it still shows the number of plugs available as being the number of physical plugs at a site. Since most stalls can charge only one car at a time, it should show how many cars could be charged.

A 2-stall site, each with one CHAdeMO and one CCS2 plug and can charge only one car at a time, does not really have 4 plugs available but only 2. It should show 0/2 in use, or 1/2 or 2/2. Not 0/4, 1/4 etc. Much less confusing to customers, I think, otherwise you see 2 plugs being available on the map and think “what are the odds 2 cars get there before I do” when in fact it takes only 1 car to get there to fully occupy the site.