Supercharge your EV life with Evie

There’s a lot to love about electric cars.

The new generation of battery-powered vehicles are quiet, seamless and effortless to drive, more affordable to own and run and, most importantly, don’t produce any harmful emissions that add to increasing levels of greenhouse gases and pollution.

And it seems Australians are cottoning on to the benefits of an EV lifestyle, with a recent study indicating that almost half of all new-car purchasers surveyed intend to buy an electric car, with a third ready to flick the switch within the next five years.

However, electric cars need a network of charging infrastructure to support them. And one of the biggest hurdles for EV owners is finding a public charger that is fast, reliable, and affordable to keep them on the road.

Thankfully, there’s an Australian company that is, literally, helping move the rapidly expanding electric vehicle community. Within six years, Evie has created one of the country’s leading networks of DC fast charging stations that is powered exclusively using 100 per cent renewable energy.

Its mission is to create freedom of movement for all Australians through a reliable, clean energy network that amplifies the EV lifestyle and helps accelerate the take-up of electric vehicles.

So, how is Evie living up to that promise? Let’s find out…

Evie has established Australia’s leading network of DC fast charging stations, with more than 186 locations to date, operating in 14 cities and regions in every state around the country.

Almost every day, it continues to expand that footprint. This year alone, Evie has created 85 new charging locations – 48 in Victoria, 15 in New South Wales, 13 in Queensland, three each in the Northern Territory and South Australia, and one each in WA, the ACT and Tasmania – while it has also upgraded numerous existing sites with newer charging stations.

The company is proudly Australian-owned and operates the network directly, ensuring it provides reliable and easily accessible fast-charging solutions for electric vehicles.

The time it takes to recharge a battery in an electric car is determined by three important factors: how much energy is needed to fill up, the maximum charging rate of the battery, and the power provided by the charger itself.

As a comparison, the battery is like a water bottle, and it will therefore take longer to re-fill from empty than it would if it was half full. The size of the opening is like the vehicle’s maximum charging rate; it would take less time if the mouth was wider than if it was narrow. And, lastly, the power from the charger is how fast the water flows from the tap; the higher the water pressure, the faster it takes to re-fill.

And then, with all that considered, recharging times are also dependent on the ambient temperature and heat in the battery. The charging rate will slow down when the battery is warm and for the last portion of its capacity, to prevent it from overheating.

All electric vehicles on sale in Australia at the moment provide a readout of the battery’s current state of charge – like a fuel gauge – and will activate a warning when the battery is near empty.

They will also give the driver an estimated time to fully recharge as soon as the vehicle is connected to a charging station.

So, how long it takes to recharge is dependent on the car itself, the charger, and the conditions.

In any case, the Evie network provides a variety of public charging solutions, ranging in power from fast 50kW to ultra-fast 350kW chargers, most of which offer the choice of either the most common CCS2 combo plug or a CHAdeMO plug, the latter predominantly used by Japanese vehicle manufacturers.

But, generally, a 50kW charging station will fully replenish a battery in less than an hour, while a quick top-up will provide an additional 100km of driving range in around 15 minutes.

If your electric vehicle is capable of accepting the maximum charge rate from an ultra-fast 350kW charger, then you could be fully charged and back on the road in less than 20 minutes – enough time for a coffee.

Just as it is with petrol stations, the price to charge an EV on the Evie network varies according to the location of the charger.

The majority of the network has a standard price of 50c per kWh for 50kWh fast chargers, with rapid 150kW chargers costing 60c/kWh and higher-voltage ultra-fast chargers costing 65c/kWh.

To that end, fully replenishing an electric vehicle with a 64kWh battery (an average size for EVs) without any additional parking fees will cost between $25.60 on an Evie fast charger and up to $41.60 on an Evie ultra-fast charger.

In any case, electric vehicles are generally more affordable to run than a conventional car with an internal combustion engine. As a comparison, based on an average usage of 30 litres of petrol per week, an EV is between 45% to 75% cheaper to run per week – saving between $27 and $45 – when using a combination of home charging and public fast charging.

Evie makes it easy for electric vehicle owners to find the nearest charging station through its dedicated smartphone app and at evie.com.au.

With the Evie Charging app, the simple four-step process starts by downloading the app from either the Apple App Store or Google Play and following the instructions to set up an account, including a payment method.

Once you’ve done that, with location settings activated, you can easily search for the nearest Evie charging station on a map of your surrounding area. Simply click on a charger for more information, such as the plug types available, the maximum charging rate, whether the charger is free or currently occupied, and the street address. The Evie app will also provide directions through Google Maps at the click of a button.

Users can also filter their choice depending on plug type and charging rate.

When you’ve plugged in the vehicle to the charger, users then select the charging station and plug type they have connected to and press ‘start charging’. It’s as simple as that.

Evie also offers its customers a convenient Evie Pass RFID card. This allows users to simply tap the card reader on the charger and it will begin charging. This is particularly useful for company fleets with vehicles that are shared by numerous employees.

One of the most frustrating situations for EV owners is arriving at a charging station, only to find it isn’t working. This is a common occurrence with some networks.

But not when you arrive at an Evie charging station, as the company prides itself on having a 98% operational rate across its entire network.

While EVs are generally most efficient in day-to-day city driving, the extensive coverage offered by the Evie network allows Australian EV owners to go wherever they need without compromise while saving money.

As a hypothetical case study, let’s compare an EV with 400km of driving range and an average consumption of 18kWh/100km to a regular petrol-powered passenger car that consumes an average of 8L/100km, over the 877km trip along the Hume Highway from Melbourne to Sydney.

If the EV’s battery is fully charged at the start of the journey, it would have to stop three times – between Wangaratta in central Victoria and the border town of Albury/Wodonga, then at Murrumbateman or a detour into Canberra, and a top-up at Mittagong for the final stretch into Sydney. In total, it would consume around 150kWh of energy to complete the trip and cost just over $100 on the highest $0.65/kWh fee, or $75 on the standard $0.50/kWh rate.

If the petrol car had a 50L fuel tank and was full at the start of the journey, it would have to stop twice to refill and would consume a total of 70L. With an average price of petrol at $2 per litre, the same trip would cost around $140.

Evie has electric vehicle owners covered, saving you time and money while supercharging your EV lifestyle.

Head to the Evie website for more information on Evie charging or visit the Evie network charging map to find your nearest Evie charger.

And to download the Evie App, visit the Apple App Store or Google Play and search for ‘Evie Charging’.