Ampol launches 5 EV rapid charger trial sites ahead of AmpCharge national rollout in 2023
Charging the Ioniq 5 at AmpCharge’s Alexandria site.
Are petrol (gas) stations doomed to go the way of the video store in the future? Ampol Australia thinks not, and is increasing investment at its retail locations, becoming the first petrol retailer in the country to move into e-mobility.
Known as Ampol AmpCharge, the company this week launched five trial EV rapid charging sites across Australia.
Matt Halliday, Ampol Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said this announcement is an important step forward in the execution of Ampol’s future energy and mobility strategy, including its objective to reduce emissions in the transport sector and support the uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
“As we begin to evolve our national network, consumers will see AmpCharge in Ampol service stations, depots and terminals right across the country. For the first time, we’ll also be entering homes, workplaces and shopping centres as we seek to deliver simple and efficient charging solutions at convenient locations to keep people moving.”
The five pilot sites include Ampol service stations in the following Australian locations:
Carseldine QLD
Alexandria NSW
Northmead NSW
Altona North VIC
Belmont WA
These sites feature a single ABB 180kW DC chargers with ChaDeMo and CCS plugs. The maximum power delivery is capped at 150kW at the moment, which is already more than many EVs on the market can accept. Ampol promises solar panel systems and battery storage provisions will be installed at each site, though we couldn’t see any evidence of this (yet) during our visit to the Alexandria site this week.
CEO Matt Halliday and EGM of International & New Business Brent Merrick officially open the Alexandria AmpCharge site along with Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator the Hon Jenny McAllister and CEO of Australian Renewable Energy Agency Darren Miller. Image: Ampol Australia
A quick walkthrough of the AmpCharge Alexandria site.
What’s the charging experience like?
Great - if you don’t mind the ambience of a service station (albeit a clean one). There are cafes and eateries nearby though, and some customers were sitting at the tables and chairs provided by the entrance to the shop. As a co-branded Woolworths Metrogo site, there’s a good selection of food and drinks in store.
I tested the charging site with a Hyundai Ioniq 5 currently on loan from Hyundai Australia. Ampol/Woolworths staff were friendly and helpful, offering assistance as customers approached. I also met Daniel, who had just turned up with his one week old Ioniq sedan - the last in Australia.
Arriving with 60 percent state of charge, the Ioniq 5 took 90-95kW of power for a good 10 minutes, eventually consuming 21.05kW in 15 minutes and 20 seconds. See the summary from the app below:
The end of charging session summary from the AmpCharge app.
Unfortunately EV drivers will have to add another EV charging app to their smartphones to activate the charger; I now have 5 charging apps on my device. Understandably, charging operators want to provide a “tailored experience” for users, and also collect as much valuable data as possible, but as many people point out, we don’t have different cards for different fuel stations, and EV’s should be no different.
I’d even be prepared to pay a slight premium for charging anonymously, if it allowed me to just tap a credit card to start the charging session.
These chargers are free to use until August 31, and form part of an initial roll out totalling close to 120 sites by October 2023, as part of a funding agreement with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) through the Future Fuels Fund.
