Mitre 10 chief property officer Grant Fraser, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Jolt CEO Doug McNamee at the launch of Jolt's first free charger in Ponsonby. Image / Supplied
Mitre 10 chief property officer Grant Fraser, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Jolt CEO Doug McNamee at the launch of Jolt's first free charger in Ponsonby. Image / Supplied
Jolt launched its first free electric vehicle charger in New Zealand today, at a Mitre 10 in Ponsonby.
The Australian-owned startup says it plans to build a network of 500 free EV chargers over the next four years, partnering with various retailers and councils.
“Jolt will have three Auckland chargingstations commissioned by Christmas and then move into a rhythm of one to two sites going live per week for the foreseeable future,” country manager Chris Monaghan told the Herald.
“These sites will span Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and the major provincial regions. The programme will move into Wellington and Christchurch in the first quarter of 2023.”
Jolt is, in a way, more of an outdoor advertising company than an EV charging company.
Hosts like Mitre 10 gain the customer appeal of a free charger. Jolt, whose EV charging stations include display screens, will get another location to sell ads (its chargers will always be on the edge of carparks, with a screen facing the road displaying commercials to passing traffic).
Mitre 10 chief property officer Grant Fraser, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Jolt CEO Doug McNamee at the launch of Jolt's first free charger in Ponsonby. Image / Supplied
It’s no coincidence that Monaghan has a background in outdoor advertising - he launched QMS in New Zealand - rather than electrical engineering.
Jolt is offering 7 kilowatt hours free via its 25-50kWh DC chargers, which will give your electric car an extra 40km to 50km of range in 15 to 30 minutes while you shop (the exact charge, and time, will vary depending on your make and model of EV, and the age of its battery).
Don’t get ideas about gaming the system. Jolt only allows one free charge every 24 hours.
But Monaghan’s pitch is that the average EV driver could still save around $1100 per year with free top-ups from his company’s chargers.
Jolt was founded in 2018, but really hit its straps in July last year when it received a A$100m investment from US investment firm BlackRock’s Real Assets renewable arm, which took a “significant minority” stake. It’s the Blackrock capital injection that’s funding a rollout of 5000 chargers across the Tasman, plus expansion into North America, the UK and now NZ.
Transport Minister Michael Wood was on-hand for Jolt’s launch today in Ponsonby.
The previous Government introduced subsidies for chargers on a public network, via a contestable EECA fund, which the current Government has continued (Monaghan said earlier that Jolt would pay its own way).
While many in the industry have welcomed the EECA scheme, some in the industry have also questioned if there also needs to be a push to subsidise home chargers - given that’s where most charging takes place. Any EV can charge from a standard AC wall outlet, but it can take more than 24 hours for a full charge. Smart chargers for the home offer faster charging, plus the potential to help power companies balance the load as EVs go mainstream. (Transpower says EVs will eventually require 20 per cent more electricity than is produced today. Smarter load balancing will be part of the answer. Local contender Evnex already has trials under way with Vector and others).
EV charger strategy coming ... soon
Earlier this week, the Herald asked Wood what the Government planned to do to support smarter home charging, how it planned to address the current confusion and lack of options for townhouse dwellers without garages who wanted to install a kerbside charger, and whether the developers of new car parks would be required to install a set number of bays with EV chargers (an increasingly common requirement offshore).
Wood did not address any of those questions directly but offered the general comment that:
“Our Government recognises the important role a comprehensive EV charging will have in New Zealand, which is why we are co-funded the installation of 1300 EV charges.
“We are currently developing New Zealand’s first EV charging strategy which will guide and promote both public and private investment in a nationwide network, including clarifying the role of smart chargers and public chargers can have in supporting the successful growth of electric vehicles.”
