Electrification – INTO THE FUTURE!

February 24, 2019

Back in the 80’s the idea of a car powered by something other than fossil fuels was pretty exciting.

Although many of us may have a crazy uncle in a white jacket, we didn’t get the flux capacitor and don’t need to to rely on a thunderbolt to get our car moving. But we did get electric vehicles (EVs), even ones with gullwings like the Delorian (thanks to Elon Musk!).

The EV market is growing and so is government support. “About time!” I hear you say, “Why has it taken so long to happen?” Well that’s a very easy one to answer – it all comes down to money.

The Australian government is contributing AU$6 million in funding to Chargefox Pty Ltd to roll out Australia’s first ultra-rapid charging network for EVs.[1]

The $15 million national rollout will include 21 charging sites on interstate highways across the East coast connecting major capital cities including Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and separately, north and south of Perth.

The first two charging sites will be in Euroa in Victoria and in Barnawartha North just outside of Albury-Wodonga on the Victorian-NSW border. These two sites are also receiving $1 million in funding from the Victorian Government.

All the charging stations will be powered through the purchase of renewable energy.

The charging sites are expected to be no more than 200 kilometres apart – well within the range of modern EVs – and will be public, open-access to all EV models currently sold in Australia. Motorists will be able to use the stations via an app.

The ultra-rapid charging technology allows an EV to add 200 to 400 kilometres of range in just 15 minutes.  By the time you’ve had a comfort break and downed your coffee, your EV will be ready to get on the road again!

The more of these cars that sell, the more cars are produced and the cheaper they become. Think back to any new technology of the past: BlueRay Players, Ipods, 3D printers.  As the demand grows, the price point will drop making EVs accessible to all Australian drivers.

We are predicting a massive growth in electric vehicles as EV costs fall over the coming decade and buyers embraced the change with range anxiety diminishing due to the charge station infrastructure.

Even major oil companies are getting on board (well lets face it, they have had it good for a long time). It is time to embrace the change and evolve.

You only need to look at Kodak as an example of a company didn’t want to embrace change and was quickly pushed out of the market.  Those that don’t move with the times will not stay in the market, let alone lead it.  We predict that automotive manufacturers that don’t start embracing electrifaction will start to disappear from the industry in future.

Electric Vehicles are a lot sweeter than kale ice-cream, however this video is pretty sweet. Everyone is on board. Time to charge up and drive.

Credit for this video goes to Shell – Dedicated to expanding the EV charging network.

[1] https://arena.gov.au/news/renewables-to-drive-ultra-rapid-electric-vehicle-network/