Power up at Euroa station

Euroa is the location of Australia’s first ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging station, which opened last week.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio opened the site that will form part of a network with sites to be installed at Barnawartha North, followed by Melbourne, Ballarat, Horsham, Torquay and Traralgon.

The ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging station opened at Euroa. 

Creators Chargefox said the sites would be powered by the world’s first solar, battery storage and 350 kW charging combinations, dramatically reducing charging time for drivers.

Ms D’Ambrosio said the station was capable of delivering up to 400 km of range in just 15 minutes.

‘‘More Victorians will be driving electric vehicles in the future, that’s why we're building the infrastructure to be ready to meet this demand,’’ Ms D’Ambrosio said.

‘‘Uptake of electric vehicles will help us reduce emissions and to tackle climate change.’’

Car manufacturers Audi, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz have committed to using the charging network, which resulted in an Audi e-tron prototype appearing at the announcement, almost a year before the Australian launch of the production model.

Live demonstrations of how the charging stations interact with a range of optimised and hybrid electric vehicles were also shown at the announcement.

The unveiling comes after Chargefox received $1 million from the Victorian Government to develop the Euroa and Barnawartha North sites. Chargefox matched the funding to build the stations.

The government announced a further $2 million to continue installing the stations following an initial combined $15 million in funding from investors including The Australian Mobility Clubs, Wilson Transformers and the founder of Carsales, Greg Roebuck, and grants from Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Victorian Government.

The ultra-rapid charging station is located at the Service Centre off the Hume Hwy at Euroa.

Story from The Shepparton News - “Power up at Euroa station.”