Ampol has announced it has entered into a funding agreement with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to deliver a national fast charging network to support the uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Australia.
As part of its Future Fuels Fund rollout ARENA will provide $7.05 million to Ampol Australia Petroleum Pty Ltd (Ampol) for the delivery of 121 public fast charging stations across four regions – with sites planned for New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
The chosen sites will feature EV chargers supplied with renewable energy or covered by green certificates and will be capable of delivering charge to a BEV at a minimum of 50kw with each site having the capacity to charge two BEVs concurrently. Ampol will commence works on the network in the second half of 2021.
“Ampol’s national retail network, along Australia’s major highways and close to existing high-traffic roads, closely matches our country’s population and is strategically located to help minimise range anxiety for EV users,” Ampol Managing Director and CEO Matt Halliday said.
“E-mobility infrastructure is a central pillar to capturing our existing customer base through the energy transition, as we look to expand our role in electricity to make the ease of the current liquid fuels era translate into the future BEV environment.”
The announcement follows the release of Ampol’s Future Energy and Decarbonisation Strategy, which outlined a commitment from the fuelling giant to achieve net zero emissions from operations by 2040 and to invest more than $100 million in future energy projects through to 2025.
As part of Round 1 of the Government’s Future Fuels Fund, Ampol along with four other successful applicants will deliver a total of 403 new fast charging stations, each capable of charging at least two vehicles concurrently at 50 kW or above.
“As the costs of electric vehicles come down, more consumers and fleet users are looking to go electric. Expanding the fast-charging network will make it easier than ever to drive an EV in Australia,” ARENA CEO Darren Miller said
“The proposals we received were of such high quality, we were compelled to increase the funding. We’re delighted to be able to support more than 400 charging stations across the country.”
Together, the five applicants will deliver a total investment value of $79.9 million with the Round 1 rollout set to see a seven-fold increase in the number of fast charging stations in Australia’s most populated cities and regions.
Winners in Round 1 of ARENA’s Future Fuels Fund rollout:
- Ampol: 121 public fast charging stations across NSW, QLD, VIC & WA.
- Chargefox: 16 public fast charging stations across SA & WA.
- Electric Highways Tasmania: 5 public fast charging stations in TAS.
- Engie: 103 public fast charging stations across NSW, QLD, SA, VIC.
- Evie Networks: 158 public fast charging stations across all states/territories.
