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If e'er there was a place to get range feet, it'south Commonwealth of australia, with its thousands of miles of uninterrupted desert. Who would even think of driving a battery-electric vehicle at that place? (Not many; Queensland only hosts nigh 700 electric vehicles.) Just now some Australian travelers tin can say adieu to range anxiety, starting in 2022. The state government of Queensland has announced that it's going to install a network of 18 charging stations along a highway stretching more than than ii g miles. It runs forth the due east coast of Queensland from Cairns to Coolangatta and so turns west to Toowoomba.

The authorities didn't state how long information technology volition take vehicles to charge at the stations. Other reports from the US claim that they can fully recharge a vehicle in xxx minutes, merely information technology'due south not clear which vehicles this applies to. In the US, nosotros tend to associate fast charging almost exclusively with Tesla and its Superchargers, merely there are other fast charging solutions in other parts of the world, oftentimes generically referred to every bit DCQC (Direct Current Quick Charge). These stations tin theoretically friction match Tesla for charge speed, bold compatible vehicle hardware is installed, though the charge fourth dimension and the average altitude between each station (bold the stations are themselves equidistant) works out to about 70 miles each. That's technically inside the Nissan Leaf's range for the 2022 model, though I wouldn't recommend taking a 1,200 mile trip in one.

Australia-Map

The planned charging station route. Image by The Guardian

Simply fast charging isn't the but trick Queensland is taking from Tesla's book. The Queensland stations will be available for the public to employ at no charge, at least for the initial phase. The "earth's longest" appellation has to be a flake qualified — it's the world's longest electric-vehicle highway in a single country, stretching some one,260+ miles (2,000 km).

The sticker toll of this enormous coast-to-declension infrastructure investment? $three million. This is practically chump change in terms of infrastructure; installing a similar length of regular asphalt highway would run upwards of a million dollars per mile, but Queensland doesn't have to put in the entire route, simply the charging stations. Queensland's Minister of Surroundings, Steven Miles, says it'due south all about getting more than people using electrical cars. "This project is ambitious, just we desire as many people as possible on board the electric vehicle revolution, equally office of our transition to a low-emissions future," Miles said in a argument. The Australian government has also announced that the energy provided to the charging stations volition be itself either generated past renewable power or purchased by using carbon offsets.

Every bit for what the automakers think, Audi Australia managing manager Paul Sansom told The Guardian that EV drivers demand to take confidence they'll be able to discover a charging station when they demand it, fifty-fifty when driving in an unfamiliar area.

"This is the current expectation effectually frequency of petrol stations, and it'due south, rightly, what consumers will need equally frequently become more than prevalent," Sansom said.