Funding for street side EV charger trial

The Albanese Government is helping boost the accessibility of EV charging by supporting the deployment of EV chargers on street side power poles across 9 local government areas in New South Wales.

The Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $871,000 in funding for Intellihub to install 50 EV chargers in areas accessible to EV owners who live in apartments, townhouses or units with no on-site EV charging.  

It is estimated that one on-street charger could service 10 households that do not have access to off street parking and can’t charge from home. 

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said it is part of the Government’s National Electric Vehicle strategy to support projects that drive the further uptake of EVs. 

“We need to see more electric vehicles on the road and providing accessible charging ports to EV owners is a critical part of making that happen” Minister Bowen said.  

“It is all part of our plan to establish a truly national EV charging network with charging stations accessible to Australian drivers. 

“We will work with companies like Intellihub to ensure we explore opportunities that support the growth of the EV charging market. 

“If the trial is successful, we can start rolling out more EV chargers connected to street poles across Australia.”

The initial deployment will also help understand the impact of EV chargers on the electricity network and look to address a number of technical and regulatory barriers, including how they could be used to charge electricity back into the grid when required.

Intellihub has engaged Schneider Electric to provide the EV charging infrastructure and Origin Energy to supply 100 per cent GreenPower, which will match the energy required to charge the vehicles with the equivalent amount of renewable energy. 

More information about the trial is available on ARENA’s website.