Chargefox opens first Queensland charging station
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 9th May 2019
ELECTRIC vehicle fast-charging network provider Chargefox has opened a third station – and its first in Queensland – as part of its plan to have Australia-wide charging infrastructure in place by the end of the year.
Having already established charging stations on the Hume Highway in Euroa and Barnawartha North, both in north-east Victoria, the latest station is located at the Toombul shopping centre in north Brisbane, which provides Queensland with its first ultra-rapid EV charging station outside of Tesla Motors’ proprietary Supercharger network.
While the Toombul site is far more metropolitan than the regional arterial locations of the Victorian sites, it has been positioned near the East-West Arterial Road and Gateway Motorway to help those EV motorists who want to bypass the Brisbane CBD when travelling north or south.
The ultra-rapid charging station features two different DC chargers, one of which is capable of delivering 350kW of power that enables 400km of range to be supplied in just 15 minutes. The other is a 50kW fast-charger which delivers 60km of charge per 15 minutes.
Like the Victorian sites, the Toombul shopping centre station is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. It is also the first Chargefox site to be situated at a shopping centre.
Australian Motoring Clubs, which includes the RACQ, are among the investors in the Chargefox network, and RACQ head of public policy Rebecca Michael said this week that the Toombul site would help improve the take-up of EVs in Queensland.
“Motorists deserve choice and that’s why we’re so happy to be part of this project – we need to ensure EVs are part of the fleet in Queensland now and into the future,” she said.
“While EVs are far better than they used to be, range anxiety is still a barrier for some drivers.
“We want to help Queenslanders overcome that, so the Brisbane ultra-rapid charging station is going to be critical.”
Since opening the inaugural Euroa site in October last year, Chargefox has been in the process of developing a national fast-charging network that will span 22 sites across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
As part of its mission to link up the major Australian cities, the next sites are likely to be located on major inter-city highways to allow for long-distance EV travel.
In an interview with GoAuto, Chargefox chief executive Marty Andrews said the next three stations will be implemented at still-secret locations in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the company hopes to have 19 stations operational by the end of September.
He added that the long-term goal for Australia’s EV charging network was for charging stations to become as commonplace as petrol stations, and for customers to be confident there will be a nearby station wherever they travel.
Since launch, Chargefox says the company has dispensed more than 190MWh of electricity through 25,000 charging sessions across Australia and New Zealand, which is enough power to charge an average household for over a decade.
