A Brisbane-based start-up that manufactures EV chargers for homes and business fleets has raised $5 million from investors as Australia plays catch up in EV capacity-building.
EVOS will use the funds to bring a suite of new products to market, in addition to its Fleet Home 22 AC Charger. The company has also developed Smart Start software to optimise time of day charging. It can select the ideal idle time for the charger to charge the vehicle during non-peak or during business hours and can control the speed and charge rate helping owners manage their energy output and costs.
The company originally raised $1.7 million to commercialise its technology and hire 22 manufacturing, engineering and sales employees.
EVOS chief executive Marcelo Salgado said the company is also developing a higher capacity fleet charger and a hardware product to that will allow business and homeowners to understand their energy and also a higher capacity fleet charging unit.
He said it was straightforward enough for owners of detached houses to install EV chargers but for multi-dwelling buildings with strata title ownership it is much more complex. “[Installing EV chargers] typically requires a significant infrastructure upgrade and there is the question of who pays for it.”
EVOS’ product gives body corporates the ability to charge apartment owners and tenants for the energy they are using. “It also helps to reduce the infrastructure cost by adding intelligence to the way charging is done. Owners need to understand the dynamics of building energy demand so they don’t overload circuits by charging EVs at off peak times,” Salgado added.
Fuel efficiency standards to boost EV uptake
Australia has been slow to adopt EVs, but uptake has begun to accelerate over the past year. In 2022, EVs accounted for just 3.1 per cent of new vehicle sales, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive industries. Over the six months to June 2023, battery EVs made up 7.4 per cent of all sales.
The government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy announced in April contained plans for a fuel efficiency standard that will apply to all car manufacturers. It will place a cap on the average amount of emissions that a manufacturers’ fleet can produce, which will incentivise them to import lower-emitting internal combustion engine cars or EVs into Australia. The government has committed to introducing the new standardy by the end of 2023.
Research commissioned by the Electric Vehicle Council and the Climate Council estimates that a fuel efficiency standard will save Australians up to $10,000 over a vehicles’ lifetime and deliver aggregate benefits of $13.6 billion by 2035. This is due to reduced fuel and maintenance costs associated with driving zero emissions vehicles. Higher EV costs of $2100 would be recovered in under two years, with running costs reducing by $1200 annually.
More than just a quarry: Australia-Indonesia EV partnership
As a global leader in lithium extraction, Australia has potential to play a central role in the EV supply chain, but currently its participation is limited to offloading much of what it extracts to China which uses it to manufacture batteries, capturing all of the value-add.
The EV partnership signed on Tuesday between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo that will establish a $200 million Climate and Infrastructure Partnership that will seek to capitalise on Australia’s lithium resources and Indonesia’s nickel extraction industry to help the countries play a meaningful role in the EV battery supply chain, expanding their involvement beyond the mining of critical minerals.
“It’s encouraging to see a shift towards positive leadership from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to develop Australia’s opportunities in the EV sector,” Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said of the bilateral agreement.
“Australia has remained in the slow lane with EV uptake and manufacturing for too long – the change in tone since the federal election has been felt right across the industry and clearly recognised by our global peers.”