Easier EV charging on the road

The rise of the electric car is happening right now and it’s an exciting time for transport. You might be one of the 33,000 people who bought a pure electric vehicle (EV) in 2022 or perhaps you’re thinking of making the switch in 2023. Either way, charging and how it fits into your lifestyle is likely to be the first thing you consider.

With residential solar and power storage readily available, more than 80 per cent of EV owners most frequently charge at home. A portion of the remaining 20 per cent top up at their workplace, so that leaves a relatively small proportion who use public charging stations.

Why? The most common reasons for avoiding public charging stations are having to queue with other EV drivers and arriving to find the equipment is out of order.

Occasionally, a zero-emissions road trip may extend beyond the maximum range of a vehicle’s battery, and this leaves charging on the go as the only option. As the demand for mid-trip charging increases, solutions to the problems EV drivers most frequently encounter are becoming more commonplace as well.

One solution is the installation of public chargers at existing service stations, offering fewer of the disadvantages most frequently encountered by EV drivers with some attractive bonuses too.

This includes well-maintained and safe charging spaces, according to Josh Hoevenaars, bp pulse ANZ Head of Business Development.

“We want to make bp pulse rapid chargers easy to find at bp service stations, through the bp pulse app as well as Google Maps,” Mr Hoevenaars said.

“Customers can expect to charge at a clean, secure and well-lit area with food and coffee just a few steps away."

Most EV owners are familiar with the sinking feeling of arriving at a charger only to find a dreaded ‘out of order’ sign, but charging equipment at staff-attended locations is generally serviced and repaired faster and the latest-generation hardware is less prone to malfunction and downtime.

In the case of the bp pulse network, the hardware is currently supplied by charging manufacturer Tritium and showcases the latest PKM modular technology. This hardware reliability, plus 24-hour monitoring, ensures there is fast issue identification and repair.

“bp pulse has a strong focus on the uptime of our chargers. We want to be the most reliable charging network in the market, in line with our aim to make charging extraordinarily helpful,” Mr Hoevenaars explained.

Convenient charging needn’t come at a price premium either, with service-station power costing less than many alternatives. bp pulse’s current price for example, is $0.55 per kWh (kilowat hour), compared with rivals that range from $0.45/kWh to Tesla’s variable rate, which can cost as much as $0.81/kWh.*

Unlike shopping centres and car parks where an EV might be left in a charging space after the battery is filled, service station customers are far more likely to plug in, charge up and be on their way.  

“We strive to offer value and convenience for our customers and monitor the use of our chargers to determine whether idle fees are required to best serve EV drivers. By charging on the go with bp pulse, our customers are able to grab a proper barista-made coffee and get back to where they’re going, fast,” Mr Hoevenaars said.

By the end of the year, the bp pulse network will have grown to 50 locations across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, offering 100 rapid charge points for EV owners out and about. And over the next few years, the initial network of 75kW chargers in key transport corridors will grow to more than 600 charge points, including 300kW chargers along highways and main roads in metropolitan, suburban and regional locations.