Australia's first Electric Highway!

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jonescg
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Post by jonescg »

[ Moderator's note: please direct feedback about charger operation to the RAC Electric Highway(TM) Feedback topic. ]

After years of stalling, a group of dedicated enthusiasts, visionaries if you may, have helped draft the plan for Australia's first Electric Highway! The RAC are drafting contracts with local governments right now, and we can expect works to begin early next year Image

Credit is due to Prof. Thomas Braunl and the UWA-led EV trial, as this project establish a network of level two AC charge stations throughout metro Perth. But the push for a DC fast charger out of town fell on deaf ears. Now that more DC-FC capable cars are on the roads, and the sales trends are positive, the time was ripe for another push.

The re-invigorated proposal was initiated by Perth AEVA member, Patti McBain. She has family down south and she simply wanted to be able to drive there in her converted Ford Focus. With the help of some friends, she arranged the first meeting at the Fremantle City Council, where sustainability officer Melanie Bainbridge's energy and connections got things moving. The Perth AEVA headed up drafting a Vision document, which after several expansions, became the main thrust of the proposal - a well mapped out, fully costed network of DC fast charging stations between Fremantle and the South West and beyond.

The Electric Highway committee lobbied anyone who would listen, and eventually after about a year, the Royal Automobile Club of WA decided to support the proposal by constructing the first route to Augusta and Bridgetown. Every local government on the route is ecstatic about the idea, and can't wait to serve the EV tourists on their way down south.

Image

There's still lots to be done, but once this one is up and running, the movement will be unstoppable!
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Post by reecho »

Thats great news Chris.

Is the second draft vision document available to AEVA members to read?
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Post by Gabz »

i was going to ask if the article was online but reecho already did on twitter

do you have this old tech called a scanner ? I am struggling to read it.
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Post by jonescg »

Click the link and download the full res image from my photobucket site. It's good to read then.
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Post by jonescg »

reecho wrote: Thats great news Chris.

Is the second draft vision document available to AEVA members to read?


I can email it to you if you like, but I will bring a copy to the meeting on Tuesday night. The RAC took it and are using it as a basis for their own plans. Fremantle should be the start of the electric highway, as they have been absolute dynamos for the cause. The RAC can do as they please (they're paying for it) but they should at least honour the hard work of the council. They were one of the first to back the EV trial and the Mayor even drives a Volt.
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Post by adelaide-ev »

Just awesome - Great work guys!
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Post by photomac »

This is fantastic. It will change everyone's considerations. I have a Brother in Bunbury and he likes my LEAF. This may sway him in the near future. Well done all with the vision and tenacity, a great work and thank you RAC! I just renewed my membership, it is a country assist version despite the LEAF's city bound nature, but this just means I am happy to pay the country rate! Well done!
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Post by PlanB »

Interesting times. The guy who chaperoned my Model S test drive reckons Tesla are going to unroll their super charger network on the east coast next year, free to Tesla owners but supposedly available for a fee (& an adapter presumably) to Leafies etc.
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Post by Gabz »

jonescg wrote: Australia's first Electric Highway!


not to remove the wind or the achivement but it's the 2nd.. the first was decommissioned and that was the 3 better place chademo units linking Newcastle and Sydney.
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Post by jonescg »

Did anyone use those stations? Seems like there were only about a half dozen EVs in the state at the time...
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Post by Gabz »

jonescg wrote: Did anyone use those stations? Seems like there were only about a half dozen EVs in the state at the time...


Well the half a dozen would of all belonged to the ausgrid EV trial cars.

there wasn't a huge amount of time between it going in and betterplace closing operations in Australia.

You can claim first, working or first free but it's not technically true that it's the first built.
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Post by g4qber »

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthre ... y?p=785138

article mentioned on Tesla Motors Club forum

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Post by jonescg »

I read that Tesla forum thread, and I also read Ted Dillard's ramblings on Inside EVs. The REV project get mentioned in both, however I think it's important to point out that the REV project had nothing to do with the re-invigorated push for a DC fast charging network, now manifest as the RAC electric highway.

I reckon a Fast AC (Mennekes 3 phase) option might be ideal as a third connector. This way Teslas can use it at 22 kW, the BMW i3 can use the SAE Type 1 connector and the Japanese EVs can use the ChaDeMo connector. Best of all, converted cars may take advantage of the fast AC option and install three AC chargers with their outputs in parallel. The Mennekes connector is much easier to retrofit into a conversion than ChaDeMo or the like.
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Post by Gabz »

jonescg wrote: I reckon a Fast AC (Mennekes 3 phase) option might be ideal as a third connector. This way Teslas can use it at 22 kW, the BMW i3 can use the SAE Type 1 connector and the Japanese EVs can use the ChaDeMo connector. Best of all, converted cars may take advantage of the fast AC option and install three AC chargers with their outputs in parallel. The Mennekes connector is much easier to retrofit into a conversion than ChaDeMo or the like.


the problem with FAST AC is that it is normally duty standby with a DC fast so you can't charge a Tesla which is using the FAST AC at the same time you CHAdeMO a LEAF.

your better off just putting in type 2 sockets at 22kW (like your existing electro-bays) which can then be used by all cars they just need the right cable. and have them as independent units. they are also less complex so more reliable and act as a good backup system if the DC Fast unit is broke.

FAST AC is for the Renault Clio in euro which have a 43kW on board charger.
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Post by reecho »

Hows this for a multi-format charge station.....everyone is covered..

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Post by g4qber »

My reading of the article is that there is a supercharging station with 12 bays and then 1 ABB multi format station. As someone at the Perth Aeva meeting mentioned, tesla is like the apple vs pc joke

If apple were to build cars, they would be solar powered but only run on 10% of the roads.
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Post by Gabz »

if you look at the plugshare http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/54742 for the location you see it's a 12 bay tesla charger and a single DBT (french made website ) multi format station 1 CHAdeMO 1 type 2 CSS and a type 2 socket AC.

it's a shared site not a magical charger that does tesla. which makes sense if a site owner allows Tesla then why not allow others to install.
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Post by g4qber »

http://www.snopes.com/humor/jokes/autos.asp

"Apple would make a car powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would run on only five per cent of the roads. "

Replace apple with tesla.

Spooky how teslas do run on the sun
But they would only need to charge at 5% of the locations due to its range
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Post by reecho »

Another story from ABC News Perth...

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Post by acmotor »

Gabz, I think Chris can safely claim ' first public electric highway ' status.    After all, this one is actually consumer driven and not just another 'trial'.

"It basically means people have got the freedom to leave town." - Chis on ABC.... So why was the first DC fast charging station fitted in a city and not on the way to somewhere ? Ok, I know the answer. But just keep a straight face as you give it Image

Roll on Australia's first electric highway !

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Post by jonescg »

The RAC have finally updated their website to announce the Electric Highway:

http://rac.com.au/news-community/enviro ... ic-highway

The chargers will be the Circontrol Trio chargers, and where additional parking space is available, a 7 kW level 2 AC charge point will be included. This will be a J1772 compliant connector.

So if you get your fast charge and change your mind and decide to stay in Harvey a little longer, you can move the car and top up Image
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Post by photomac »

Good news!
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Post by jonescg »

Here is an example of the West Coast Electric Highway in the USA:
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/109 ... -ca-follow

A combination of ChaDeMo, L2 bays and Tesla Superchargers make for a pretty comprehensive route.
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Post by acmotor »

jonescg wrote: ....So if you get your fast charge and change your mind and decide to stay in Harvey a little longer, you can move the car and top up Image


LOL, the local chamber of commerce will sabotage the FC then Image
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Post by jonescg »

Hehe, how did that XXXX advertisement go? "Staaaaay, just a little bit longer..."
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