Australia spends millions on electric mobility projects

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is investing a total of 21.8 Australian dollars in three electric mobility projects. It also announced funding to help the country's car rentals go electric.

The biggest share – 15.8 million AUD (about 10.4 US dollars) – goes to the industrial freight provider Centurion. The latter wants to add 30 battery-electric trucks to its fleet and install 15 chargers with a total of 30 charge points at its depot in Hazelmere.

2.5 million AUD (1.65 million USD) will go to Patrick Terminals, Western Australia’s largest container terminal. The company wants to deploy nine battery-electric trucks “and related fast chargers” at the Port of Freemantle. According to ARENA, it would be a first-of-its-kind project in the country.

The remaining 3.5 million AUD (2.31 million USD) were awarded to the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA). It will “coordinate the delivery of 129 light battery electric vehicles and required charging infrastructure.” The new EVs will become part of 22 local government fleets.

“These three projects demonstrate a variety of vehicles and use cases for EVs including industries that have previously proved challenging to reduce vehicle emissions,” says ARENA CEO Darren Miller.

In other news, ARENA awarded 4.76 million AUD (3.15 USD) in funding Driving the Nation Program to Europcar Mobility Group for the ‘Electric Rental Vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Rollout’ project. The money will go to the Europcar Mobility Group, one of Australia’s largest vehicle rental companies. The latter will use it to install 256 chargers across at least 41 sites in the country “to support the deployment of around 3,100 passenger electric rental vehicles over the next three years.” Locations will include airports, metropolitan hubs and regional locations.

The idea is also to boost the second-hand car market, as Europcar Mobility Group intends to operate the EVs for up to two years. “Europcar Mobility Group’s project, while helping to reduce emissions in the fleet and rental car market, will also help to get a wider range of EVs into the second-hand market and that’s a win-win for both the company and Australians looking to purchase. I hope to see this replicated by other rental car companies,” Miller explains.

arena.gov.au, arena.gov.au (Europcar Mobility Group)