The construction of Australia’s first full service electric vehicle charging network is underway in Canberra, which is currently operating on a limited scale but due to offer a full service from the second quarter of next year.
According to the Australian Financial Review, the nation’s capital has been targeted because the city’s households have a stronger preference than others for renewable energy, combined with a high average number of vehicles per household due to the city’s geographic spread.
The Canberra network currently has seven charging points and is expected to add more next year, along with battery-swapping sites on major freeways.
Our recent blog post referencing the end-to-end lifecycle emissions of Electric Vehicles does call into question the investment in the infrastructure ahead of the market demand for the vehicles, with projected improvements in petrol-driven engines due to significantly reduce their impact over the next ten years. We think that the investment in the EV technology will give them strong motivation to continue to improve their engines, with the shift towards more environmentally sustainable transportation technology resulting in a positive outcome for everyone.