Sydney Rolls Out New Type of Charging Station to Boost Electric Vehicle Adoption

The first Ausgrid EVX electric vehicle charger at Dixon Park in Newcastle, Australia, Dec. 19, 2022. (AAP Image/Supplied by Ausgrid)

The Australian city of Sydney has launched the first pole-mounted electric vehicle (EV) charger as part of a plan to improve Australia’s electric vehicle adoption by installing 30,000 similar stations across the country.

Electricity distribution company Ausgrid, charging infrastructure firm EVX and the City of Sydney unveiled the new EV charger on Feb. 27.

The EV charger was installed on a utility pole in the inner west suburb of Glebe as Ausgrid extended the trial program to major capital cities following the project’s launch in Newcastle in December 2022.

“Glebe is exactly the kind of suburb where demand for this solution will grow in the coming years. It is densely populated, and many people don’t have access to off-street parking,” Ausgrid’s CEO Marc England said.

“We believe that once the community see more charging infrastructure like this close to their homes, they will feel confident they can make their next vehicle purchase an EV.”

A More Convenient EV Charging Solution for City Dwellers?

Ausgrid said pole-mounted chargers were faster and cheaper to deploy than kerbside charging stations, saving urban space and causing less disruption to the surrounding communities.

The company has planned to roll out 30,000 similar stations across Australia by 2029.

“We know that EV uptake will continue to grow, and it is our role as the electricity distributor to make this transition as easy and low-cost as it can be,” England said.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said chargers on poles would not take up “precious road and footpath space” and help the city reduce CO2 emissions from transportation.

“The city is committed to lowering the barriers to electric vehicle uptake and use, particularly through increasing access to charging facilities,” Moore said.

A charging device for a Nissan Leaf vehicle is seen in Melbourne, Australia, on July 11, 2019. (Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

In addition, the lord mayor said the new charging facility could help apartment dwellers feel more confident in adopting EVs.

“Not everyone in our community has access to private parking, so we’re excited to help meet the challenge of providing on-street charging capacity,” Moore said.

Meanwhile, EV owners will need to download the EVX app when using the new charger.

They will also be charged a flat fee of $0.5 (US$0.34) per kilowatt hour.

By the end of 2022, there were estimated to be 4,943 EV charging stations in Australia, a 44.8 percent increase compared to a year earlier.

City of Sydney’s Plan for Electrifying the Transport System

The launch of the new EV charger comes as the Sydney City Council announced its plan to electrify the city’s transport system.

The local government authority for the centre of Sydney and surrounding areas aims to reduce the CO2 emissions of all vehicles operating in the area to zero by 2035.

To achieve this goal, the council outlined five key actions to be taken in cooperation with the New South Wales and federal governments.

Specifically, it will continue to boost its fleets of EVs, including cleansing and maintenance vehicles.

The city council currently has 19 fully electric cars and 73 hybrid cars, along with one fully electric truck and two waste bin collection vehicles.

Furthermore, It will push for state and federal governments to reduce EV prices and speed up the electrification of public transport.

Planning controls are another important aspect of the plan as the city council seeks to make all new developments EV-ready and develop ways to retrofit old apartment buildings with EV chargers.

The council also commits to doubling the number of chargers in its own car parks and increasing the number of off-street charging facilities.