If you have access to an electric vehicle (EV) you can now travel along the world's longest electric super highway in a single state.
From Cairns all the way down to Coolangatta, a nearly 2,000km stretch of tropical coastline, the Queensland Government has installed fast charging stations for use by locals and tourists traveling in EVs. These charging stations (which are carbon-neutral and pollutant-free) are located close to major highways and retail/food service premises and, best of all, recharging at these stations is free until December this year. As if we needed another reason to visit beautiful Queensland!
More and more Australians are satisfying their sense of adventure by getting out on the open road in their EVs and, with so many charging stations dotted around the country, it’s now easier, safer and cheaper than ever to do so.
In a recent interview, retired farmer Sylvia Wilson recounted how she drove around Australia in an electric car and it cost her only $150.90 to keep the vehicle charged. The same trip in a petrol fuelled car would have, at a conservative estimate based on city prices, cost more than $3,000. It took Sylvia 110 days and over 20,000km to navigate the Round Australia Electric Vehicle Superhighway – a loop of charging stations throughout the country. She is the first woman to drive the route and the second person ever to do a loop of our wide brown land in a Tesla.
EV and battery technology continues to advance globally and, according to the experts, Australia is in a unique position to be a market leader in these industries because of the wealth of natural resources at our disposal. In a report produced by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC), it was highlighted that Australia has a remarkable opportunity to benefit from its local advantages as it is now responsible for mining the majority of the world’s lithium, and is mining all the minerals necessary to domestically manufacture batteries.
While the technology, opportunities and adoption of EVs continue to evolve, the future of road travel in Australia looks increasingly interesting.
To find out more about electric vehicles check out AEMO’s discussion with Volvo Cars Australia and UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures.
*As the system and market operator, we are fuel and technology neutral. The products, services and providers in this content are for illustrative purposes only and are not endorsed by AEMO.