The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $24.55 million in funding to five applicants across 19 projects to expand Australia’s fast charging network for battery electric vehicles (EVs), in Round 1 of the Government’s Future Fuels Fund.

The expanded funding pool, increased by $8.05 million from an initial allocation of $16.5 million, was made available after ARENA was impressed by the strength and number of applicants to the funding round.

The successful applicants are:

• Evie Networks: ARENA will provide $8.85 million to Fast Cities Australia Pty Ltd (Evie Networks) for the delivery of 158 public fast charging stations across eight regions.
• Ampol: ARENA will provide $7.05 million to Ampol Australia Petroleum Pty Ltd (Ampol) for the delivery of 121 public fast charging stations across four regions.
• Engie: ARENA will provide $6.85 million to IPAH Client Solutions Australia Pty Ltd (Engie) for the delivery of 103 public fast charging stations across four regions.
• Chargefox: ARENA will provide $1.4 million to Chargefox Pty Ltd (Chargefox) for the delivery of 16 public fast charging stations across two regions.
• Electric Highways Tasmania: ARENA will provide $0.4 million to Electric Highways Tasmania Pty Ltd (EHT) for the delivery of 5 public fast charging stations across one region.

Together, the five applicants will deliver 403 new fast charging stations, each capable of charging at least two vehicles concurrently at 50kW or above. Catalysing a total investment value of $79.9 million, Round 1 will see a seven-fold increase in the number of fast charging stations in Australia’s most populated cities and regions.

Charging stations will be built across eight geographic regions covering 14 of Australia’s most populous cities. In addition to networks in the capital cities in every state and territory, regional centres including Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Sunshine Coast will each receive a minimum of eight new fast charging stations to drive the uptake of EVs in regional locations.

The Future Fuels Fund is a $71.9 million initiative announced in the 2020-21 federal budget to remove barriers to the uptake of new vehicle technologies. Round 1 aims to support the growing number of Australian motorists with EVs with a charging network across regional and capital cities, while subsequent rounds will focus on increasing EV charging capacity in regional areas, reducing barriers to transitioning business fleets and increasing the use of hydrogen and biofuels in the transport sector.

ARENA chief executive Darren Miller says the increased funding pool will significantly expand Australia’s fast charging network and remove barriers to the uptake of EVs: “As the costs of electric vehicles come down, more consumers and fleet users are looking to go electric. Expanding the fast-charging network will make it easier than ever to drive an EV in Australia.

“The proposals we received were of such high quality, we were compelled to increase the funding. We’re delighted to be able to support more than 400 charging stations across the country.”