Brisbane-based start-up Evos has installed what it claims to be the first Australian manufactured AC electric vehicle charger, a 22kW wall unit that can provide the average EV with as much as 120km range in one hour.
Evos was founded by ex-Tritium employees Marcelo Salgado, Seshan Weeratunga and Chris Crossman and had its launch in November 2021, after the trio secured $1.7 million in seed funding the previous July.
Tritium, which also started up in Brisbane, has made a solid name for itself as a world leader in electric vehicle fast-charging technology, or DC chargers.
Evos, however, has set out to capture the fleet and home charging market, using patented energy management software that seeks to reduce the costs of charging by controlling key factors like time of use and charge rate.
Evos says the “milestone” installation of its Fleet Home 22 AC charger – which retails for $2,200 – was at the headquarters of Queensland energy retailer LPE in the centre of Maroochydore, on the Sunshine Coast.
LPE, or Locality Planning Energy, specialises in retailing electricity to strata companies and embedded networks, and was last year revealed as one of two key sales partners for the Evos chargers, alongside oil giant Ampol.
(Interestingly, LPE made headlines last month as one of the first of a growing number of smaller Australian retailers forced to start shedding its residential customers, as a result of the current energy market crisis.)
Aside from its energy management smarts, Evos hopes the key selling points of the Fleet Home AC Charger will be its design – easy to install, uninstall and reinstall and compatible with single phase or three phase power – and the fact that it’s Australian made.
“We’re proudly Australian owned, with an Australian-designed charger that is manufactured in Brisbane,” says Salgado.
“We want people to get involved and be part of something innovative and exciting, in a sector set to skyrocket in the years to come.”
Whether Evos can claim the “first Australian manufactured” title is debatable. Melbourne-based EVolution launched an “Australia-designed and developed” 22kW AC destination charger, the Auriga, back in 2019. Although that is a “pedestal” design, targeting work places and shopping centres.
Fellow Melbourne company Jet Charge this year announced it is teaming up with Middy’s Electrical to roll out EV chargers to Australian homes and businesses – but it is using Wallbox chargers, which are imported from Europe.
Regardless, as The Driven noted at the time of the Evos launch in Brisbane last year, it’s great to see a local company helping to drive the shift to electric cars – and particularly one that is smoothing the way for the electrification of fleets.
The company says it has received “significant interest” in its chargers since the November launch and is looking to hire another 26 people over the coming year to help meet projected demand.
“One of the key benefits to owning an electric vehicle is reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and recharging at home, or at work,” Salgado added.
“To make the most of this convenience, people need to be able to charge at home at greater speed than that available from a standard home plug, and also manage when they recharge so that they keep their electricity bills as low as possible. Our charger and its software address those issues.”
Keyword: Evos marks “milestone” install of Australian made EV charger, gears up for more