Today Evie Networks opens its newest fast charging site at Brisbane Airport, giving commercial fleet and ride share operators the confidence to make the shift to electric vehicles.

With four fast chargers, the hub is optimally located to serve vehicles transiting between Brisbane Airport and the CBD, with easy access to Evie’s charging stations on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and to the west.

Evie Networks CEO Chris Mills said he anticipates many businesses in South East Queensland will replace their fleets with electric vehicles to take advantage of lower running costs and access to public charging infrastructure.

“We’ve been running a fleet of ride share vehicles here in Brisbane since the beginning of the year. They cover thousands of kilometres a week and it’s working brilliantly. We’re happy to share our learnings to get other electric fleets on the road,” Mr Mills said.

“Not only do commercial fleets lower their costs, the international data shows significant community benefits in air quality, respiratory health and reduced emissions.

“We’ll now see an acceleration as state government programs like the QFleet electrification and Commonwealth programs like the recently announced ARENA Future Fuels Fund make it easy to switch.”

Mr Mills said his vision is to ensure every home and business is no more than 15 minutes drive from a reliable public fast charging station.

“Site quality is just as important to commercial fleets as it is to the general public. Charging sites need to be fast, convenient, and safe 24/7. For commercial fleets it’s a matter of operational efficiency as well as health and safety,” he said.

“Right now, the typical charging session is 20 minutes. However, we are already planning to upgrade charging speeds using Tritium’s recently announced RTM75 manufactured at their factory in Brisbane.”

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said that the Palaszczuk Government was committed to supporting Queenslanders using electric vehicles by increasing accessibility to necessary infrastructure.

“Queensland has led the way, opening the single longest charging station network in a single state in the world in 2018 and making it free for the first two years,” Mr Bailey said.

“The Queensland Electric Vehicle Super Highway now has 31 charging sites between Coolangatta and Cairns, and west to Toowoomba.

“Governments and the private sector must work in partnership to drive the shift in private, fleet and rideshare electrification by making more charging sites available, so I commend Evie for helping to lead the way in this space in Queensland.”

St Baker Energy Innovation Fund Founder and Deputy Chairman Trevor St Baker said the Fund had committed $100 million to Evie Networks as part of the Fund’s pledge to electrify the transportation sector.

“The St Baker Energy Innovation Fund is committed to electrifying the transportation sector and reducing vehicle emissions and sees the transition of fleet and ridesharing vehicles to battery electric vehicles as an obvious and important step in this exciting journey,” Mr St Baker said.

“Evie Networks demonstrates the Fund’s commitment to the electrification agenda, and by incorporating our world-leading Tritium EV fast chargers in their sites, we are proud to support their efforts to build Australia’s largest ultra-fast EV charging network alongside their growing metro charging facilities.”