Tasmania’s First DC Fast Charger

City of Launceston Unveils Tasmania’s First Publicly-Available DC Fast Charger from Tritium

· Tritium’s Veefil-RT 50kW DC fast chargers can charge most battery EVs to 80 per cent within 30 minutes

· Installation kicks off Launceston’s commitment to providing fast-charging infrastructure to the growing number of EV drivers in the state

Launceston, Australia – October 19, 2018 – The City of Launceston has opened the roads to the emerging number of electric vehicle drivers in the state of Tasmania, after installing the state’s first publicly-available DC fast charger from Australian EV infrastructure specialists, Tritium.

A Tritium Veefil-RT 50kW DC fast charger was purchased and installed by the city and is available for use immediately. The site, in Paterson Street East car park, is free to use for all drivers until July 1, 2019, when fees for charging will be set.

“The installation of Tritium’s DC fast charger is an important first step in unlocking electric vehicle usage in the state of Tasmania,” said City of Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten. “The rise of electric vehicles is important for the state as the zero-emission driving capabilities of EVs ensures we can keep our biggest asset – our air and environment – clean for tourists.

“The Tritium DC fast charger is proven technology and will help eliminate ‘range anxiety’ for our growing number of EV drivers across the state.”

Tritium’s Veefil-RTs ensure drivers can fully charge their vehicle to 80 per cent within 30 minutes on average for any EV with a CHAdeMO or CCS2 socket – meaning they will accommodate most makes and models of EVs available in Australia.

With the installation of Tasmania’s first publicly-available DC Fast Charger, drivers will be able to complete the round trip from Launceston to Hobart with a single charge at the Launceston site. Further, the new infrastructure will encourage the uptake of electric vehicles to local residents, while enabling tourists to more easily explore the state in an electric vehicle.

In 2013, the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Tasmanian Climate Change Office (TCCO) UNDERTOOK A PROJECT TO INVESTIGATE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS of electric vehicles in Tasmania. The benefits identified included: reduced transport-related air pollution; improved energy security due to reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels; and significant emissions reduction opportunities due to Tasmania’s renewable energy profile.

It also identified a key barrier to electric vehicle uptake: a lack of public charging infrastructure to support longer distance drives. While most EV owners charge their vehicles at home, the project identified that public charging “is needed to support extended journeys, including to facilitate electric vehicle tourism”.

“Tasmania is known for its pristine natural beauty, so it’s great to see the City of Launceston positioning Tasmania as a leader in zero-emissions mobility and helping to protect its environment in the process,” said Chris Hewitt, Head of Sales A/NZ, Tritium. “It’s been proven time and time again across the world that building charging infrastructure leads to an increase in EV uptake, and the City of Launceston is leading the way in enabling an EV future in Tasmania.”

Tritium, founded in Brisbane, is a world leader in fast-charging station technology with deployments in the United States and Europe, and in Australia is the leading supplier of chargers for Queensland’s EV super-highway and the NRMA’s electric vehicle highway in New South Wales.

ABOUT TRITIUM

Brisbane-based Tritium is a technology company specialising in the design and manufacture of DC fast-charging solutions for electric vehicles (EV). Established in 2001, to provide power-electronic systems and battery energy-storage applications, it has, since the launch of its first DC fast charger in 2014, become one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies. In just four years Tritium has developed into a leading global DC fast charging supplier, with installations in 26 countries, and it currently holds around 50% of the Norwegian market and around 15% of the wider European market for 50kW fast chargers. In 2016, the Queensland Government invested AU$2.5m in Tritium – the first company to receive investment under a Business Development Fund scheme established to encourage innovative business – and it invested a further AU$2.5m in 2018.  Customers include Charge.net.nz, EDF Lumins, Fortum, Grønn Kontakt, IONITY, Proterra and Stromnetz.  Tritium’s HQ and main manufacturing plant is in Brisbane, with additional sales and manufacturing facilities in its two key markets of Europe and the US.