Although all hopeful EV drivers can see from the road is concrete pads surrounded by temporary fencing in Kalbarri, this is the beginning of construction for the world’s longest electric vehicle highway, from Kunnanurra in the north of Western Australia to Esperance in the south.
With the eastern extension to Eucla and an extra 43 chargers (now 98 in total), the highway has doubled in length from the 3,205 km (1991 miles) reported by myself in CleanTechnica 18 months ago, to 6,600 kilometres (4,101 miles) with 98 chargers across 49 locations. Chargers placed every 200 km or less means there should be no range anxiety and plenty of time and opportunity to shop in regional towns.
The highway has been named the Western Australia EV Network. Local companies will be doing the installing. Work has commenced at Kalbarri, Northhampton, and Geraldton. It is estimated that there are over 3,000 EVs on Western Australia roads at present, with numbers expected to double in 2023.
EV drivers will no longer have to depend on a patchwork of destination chargers, caravan park charging, and the occasional high speed charger.
Subscribers can read the rest of this full dive into the under-construction EV highway — as well as broader Australian plans behind it and some responses from people who will use it and people contributing to it — on CleanTechnica Pro here: World’s Longest Electric Vehicle Highway Under Construction
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Source: Clean Technica