EVwire brief: bp pulse has officially opened a 24-bay EV charging hub at Melbourne Airport, which the company says is the largest EV charging hub in Australia.
The site combines 150 kW and 300 kW chargers with truck-friendly bays, a canopy, free Wi-Fi and restrooms for drivers. It is also bp pulse's first large-scale charging hub in the country, a category the company defines as any site with more than eight bays.
Antoine Denis, General Manager of bp pulse Australia, marked the opening in a post on LinkedIn:
"We officially opened Australia's largest EV charging hub at Melbourne Airport, with 24 fast charging bays in one of the country's busiest transport precincts. After significant planning, collaboration and hard work, it was incredibly rewarding to see the ribbon cut and customers already using the site."
Thinking of getting an EV, selling yours, or need EV accessories and adapters?
Check out our fresh EVwire EV Deals page for the discounts we've gathered.
The hub sits at the corner of Airport Drive and Francis Briggs Road, inside a precinct that sees around 34,000 vehicles a day, according to bp Australia in a press release back in March. Beyond the standard bays, the site includes two accessible bays and drive-through bays for larger vehicles.
Rideshare drivers get an extra incentive to stop by, too. Uber drivers in EVs can use bp pulse's existing Uber discount at the site, which knocks a base 5 to 8 Australian cents (about 3.5 to 5.5 US cents) off every kWh.
When construction began in March, Melbourne Airport said the hub would run entirely on solar power generated at the airport. Jai McDermott, the airport's Chief of Ground Transport, Property and Retail, said at the time:
"Not only will this be the first of its scale at an Australian airport, but we're proud that bp pulse has chosen to power the hub with 100% renewable electricity generated from Melbourne Airport's two onsite solar farms."
By the way, it sure looks to us like you are an EV geek like ourselves.
Which means you belong with us: join 14,700+ reading our newsletters: subscribe
Context:
bp pulse's Melbourne Airport hub arrives as more Australian businesses switch their vehicles to electric. Electric trucking startup New Energy Transport, for one, raised AU$5 million (US$3.47 million) to put 20 electric trucks on Australian roads by the end of the year.
Australia's charging networks are expanding just as fast. Tesla celebrated its 1,000th Supercharger stall in the country at Byron Bay in June, while fuel giant Ampol agreed earlier this month to buy Evie Networks for AU$225 million (US$156 million). This means that bp pulse's new flagship hub joins a fast-growing field, with the company itself having installed more than 290 charging bays across Australia since it launched in 2022.
Source: Antoine Denis on LinkedIn, bp Australia press release
DIG DEEPER: For more charging coverage, check out our Chargingwire. If you have not already, join 14,700+ EV geeks getting our newsletter: subscribe.
