The electric vehicle strategy released by the Federal Government on Wednesday, 19th April 2023, announced three key objectives – increase the supply of affordable and accessible EVs, establish the resources, systems, and infrastructure to enable rapid EV uptake and encourage increased EV demand. IPD Group’s industry experts have reviewed the strategy in depth and summarised what this means for this rapidly changing market and the electrical industry.
While the strategy is an important step forward in the right direction, notable gaps have been identified as mentioned by David Sullivan, General Manager – Gemtek, “IPD Group are happy to see the federal government publishing an EV Strategy and giving national direction to an industry that has lacked national leadership. Of particular interest is the investment into infrastructure, notably 117 charging stations along Australian Highways. This will help to remove range anxiety in geographic areas that, if left to industry, would never be invested in. Additionally, the commitments to fuel efficiency standards, the Australian-Made Battery Plan and Battery Recycling are admirable aspirations. Still, the lack of details and genuine progress on the topics is disappointing and we urge the government to accelerate”.
In determining how these objectives impact our industry, careful attention needs to be given to how the Government plans to establish resources, systems, and infrastructure. Currently, the Federal Government has three initiatives in the process, including working in partnership with NRMA to create a national network of 117 EV charging stations on major highways at an average of 150km intervals, along with providing a $500 million driving the nation fund, and creating new energy apprenticeships and delivering new energy skill programs. In addition to this, we are seeing the private sector working to deliver charging networks across the country to help meet the demand, and updates have been made to the National Construction Code to ensure new buildings are designed, constructed, and fitted out to enable the installation of renewable energy and EV charging. In addition to the strategy from the Federal Government, State and Territory Governments have put together their plans for preparing for the demand.
The strategy that has been outlaid aims to deliver on the following six outcomes:
1. A great choice of EVs
2. A reduction in transport emissions
3. Increasing ease of charging EVs nationally
4. An increase in local manufacturing and recycling of materials
5. Making EVs more affordable
6. Making it cheaper for people to run their vehicles.
We will continue to monitor these outcomes and the impacts and benefits the outcomes have on the industry. The electric vehicle strategy report is available here. It is essential to remember that as these changes come into place, the requirements should be made to ensure you are prepared for the rapid increase in EV vehicles.
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure is more than just the charger; consideration needs to be placed on the electrical requirements for the charger and how the energy load is managed. IPD, Gemtek and Addelec have the capabilities to help you deliver reliable charging infrastructure solutions from design, hardware, software, and installation. Contact our team on 1300 556 601 for more information.