Source: Ampol
Ampol has officially launched the first of five AmpCharge pilot sites that will inform its plan to roll out 150kW electric vehicle chargers across its networks of petrol station forecourts in the months to come.
Ampol CEO Matthew Halliday says the newly opened site in Alexandria, its first in Sydney, along with that in Carseldine, Brisbane, represents just the tip of a 120-strong network iceberg planned by the end of 2023.
By the end of 2030, the oil and gas major plans to become “leading EV charging network in Australia by 2030.“
More infrastructure is desperately needed, with thousands more electric cars set to hit Australian roads by the end of 2022 and public charging places already reaching saturation point.
An increasing number of EV drivers have joined social media groups – one Tesla Model 3&Y Facebook group now has 17,000 members – and is an indication of how quickly interest and adoption is picking up.
Ampol has yet to release a full map of the planned network, other than the list of five pilot sites (which in addition to SydneyAlexandria and Carseldine include Northmead (NSW), Altona North (VIC) and Belmont (WA).
But in an interview with the Driven, Halliday said the network will aim for “good coverage,” including sites in regional areas.
“Our petrol and convenience stations, we’ve got the leading network today, from a petrol and convenience point of view, because we have such a strong network, they’re convenient positions for our customers, so we’ll leverage that footprint,” he says.
Ampol says it isn’t only focussed on the fast-charging side of things. Charging solutions for fleets and homes are also in its sight.
“We’re also conscious that our customers, including our fleet customers, which are going to drive scale at the earlier part of this transition, need to have network coverage that covers other destinations, that covers home charging,” says Halliday.
“So it will entail rolling out the leading network for EV charging which will cover other destinations and leveraging fast charging.”
Source: Ampol
With guaranteed uptime of chargers a hot topic in the EV community, Halliday says Ampol will be focussed on ensuring a reliable network.
“We’ve been incredibly conscious of ensuring that we put a safe, reliable and effective offer in place for our customer,” he says.
“There’s nothing worse than turning up and expecting a service that you can’t receive – internationally, I think the standards have been relatively poor in terms of charging rollouts.
“And so, you know, the impacts of those pilot sites and all of the work that we’ve done in investment made to lead up to this point is to ensure the first five pilot sites and then you know, make sure that the bones run out to the rollout across those first 120 sites by Q4 next year, ensuring that it’s a safe and very reliable offer for our customers.”
Naturally, Ampol also has its eye on other alternative fuel markets.
“Ampol is looking at its customer needs, right across the technology spectrum,”: says Halliday.
“I think clearly, we believe that electric vehicles are the preferred technology for light vehicles, but on the heavy side, hydrogen is going to play a role … biofuels are going to play a role and so we are working in those areas equally.”
Ampol wants “balanced” fuel emissions standards
As Australia’s largest seller of fossil fuels, the topic of fuel emissions standards is again on the front page, with a new report that says the lack of any such standards has cost Australian drivers $6 billion since 2015.
Halliday says Ampol believes the current government is gaining ground on its EV policy, but says – unsurpisingly – that the discussion needs to be “balanced.”
“Vehicle emission standards, I think, are a very large topic, I think it’s going to be pretty clear important that Australia can get access to the range of EVs that it needs to meet the market uptake,” he said.
He also repeated claims that a fuel emissions standard would add cost to vehicles, although the TAI report makes clear that any rise will be more than offset by the reduced consumption of petrol from more efficient cars.
“It has to be balanced against cost of living because it will push up costs for crucial vehicles into Australia,” Halliday said, adding he thinks that the added cost of electric vehicles is tantamount to a “tax on a number of vehicles that are sold in Australia today.”
Keyword: Ampol lays out plan to become leading EV charging network