West Coast Of Australia Gets Its Own “Electric Highway”

8 years ago James Ayre
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The west coast of Australia is now home to its first “electric highway,” thanks to a recent collaboration between RAC and local governments in the area.

The new “RAC Electric Highway” is, as one can probably guess, a new network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations spread out along the west coast of the oceanic country/island — giving those who drive EVs in the region a means of traveling along the coast far more easily than would be possible otherwise.

image

The exact route of the new electric highway is the Perth to Augusta (or vice versa) one.

Electrek provides further details:

The stations are equipped with 3 types of connectors: 1 DC CSS Combo 1 mode cable/connecto, 1 DC CHAdeMO mode 4 JEVS G105 cable connector and 1 AC Mode3 Type 2 (Mennekes) cable connector for the Tesla Model S.

This system allows charging for almost any electric vehicle model. To get access to the charging stations, you will need a RFID card (existing RFID will work), which will activate the chargers. RAC waives the cost of a charge until 31 December 2015, charges will apply starting in 2016.

Those with more of a visual/multimedia bent may prefer to get their information via video, so here you go:

Inspirational project. I expect it will be very popular, especially as EV adoption jumps.

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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

James Ayre has 4830 posts and counting. See all posts by James Ayre

2 thoughts on “West Coast Of Australia Gets Its Own “Electric Highway””

  • JamesWimberley
    September 14, 2015 at 8:02 am
    Permalink

    Unusual geography: to a first approximation, the population map is two-dimensional along the coast, plus a large blob round Perth, as the vast interior is almost uninhabited. So it’s the easiest possible topology for a charging network.

  • kvleeuwen
    September 14, 2015 at 9:27 am
    Permalink

    ” and 1 AC Mode3 Type 2 (Mennekes) cable connector for the Tesla Model S.”

    Not just the Tesla, the Renault Zoe can charge with 43 kW through that connector.
    And selling under $30k from the factory (without rebates or tax refunds), that is a much more interesting car for most 🙂
    Not sure whether it sells in Australia though; if not, one can import a RHD version from Great Britain.

Comments are closed.