Polestar 2 EV crosses the Nullarbor

Polestar has become the latest entity to take advantage of the new BiOfil fast-chargers stationed on Western Australia’s expansive Nullarbor Plain in a new trans-state road trip from South Australia to Perth with its new 2022 Polestar 2 electric car.

Situated 370km west of the South Australian border and 370km east of Norsemen at the Caiguna Roadhouse, the charging point is powered by waste ‘chip fat’ (vegetable) oil from the roadhouse and is said to be completely emissions-free.

Dreamt up by retired engineer Jon Edwards, the BiOfil charge point’s installation effectively bridges the previously unassailable gap in WA’s ‘electric highway’, with the vast majority of EVs on sale in Australia now able to cross the Nullarbor.

The Polestar 2 has an effective range of 450-540km, depending on the variant – nowhere near long enough to span the 740km journey between Norseman and the border.

According to Polestar and Edwards, the charger extracts energy from waste oil using a generator, the emissions from which are offset by the sunlight and CO2 taken in by crops before they’re turned into oil.

“The cost of installing an equivalent solar-powered EV fast-charger is over five times the cost of building the BiOfil fast-charging unit,” Edwards said.

“Solar energy would not have been economically feasible for such a low-traffic location, making BiOfil the environmentally friendly interim solution for EVs driving across the Nullarbor right now.”

Polestar Australia managing director Samantha Johnson said the aspiring brand was “thrilled to share its passion for innovation and sustainability with visionaries” like Edwards.

“To turn a waste product into a CO2-neutral charging solution, which connects Australian EV owners from the east with the west, is the sort of ingenuity that has led to so many Australian innovations,” she said.

While Polestar is helping trial the new charging station, it’s not the first EV to get involved.

Prior to its arrival in the desert, the station was used by Perth-based Targa racer Jurgen Lunsmann to win the Targa165 class at the 2021 Targa West tarmac rally in a Tesla Model 3 Performance.

Images: The West Australian/Dianne Bortoletto