Boost to EV charging in New Zealand

Tāmaki Makaurau - Tritium, a global developer and manufacturer of fast chargers for electric vehicles (EVs), has joined forces partnership with Kiwi-owned Jump Charging, a green energy charging and fuel infrastructure business, to expand access to fast charging infrastructure in New Zealand. 

The rate of EV adoption continues to grow in New Zealand and charging infrastructure will need to grow to meet the increasing demand. Nearly 20 percent of the 100,000 light vehicles sold in 2022 in New Zealand were battery electric and the country is on its way to achieving its 2050 net-zero emissions reduction goals.

However, as of December 2022, there were only 350 public charging stations in the country, or just one charging station for every 200 EVs registered in New Zealand.

To address this gap, the New Zealand government has plans to expand on its initial vision for nationwide coverage of DC fast chargers every 75 kilometres along state highways.

As part of this investment, the government is prioritising high-powered public charging hubs to match the rapidly growing number and increased requirements of electric vehicles and their drivers.

Jump Charging says it is committed to further expanding access to publicly available charging in the country to accelerate decarbonisation of the transport sector.

The company is developing their network with Australia’s Tritium fast chargers at its core and is planning to implement an initial 20 fast charging hubs at key locations followed by the rapid deployment of further sites nationwide.

Tritium chief executive Jane Hunter emphasised that EV charging installation, maintenance, and education are crucial steps to helping New Zealand reach its 2050 net-zero emissions reduction goals.

Jump Charging offers its customers flexible purchase, lease and partnership models and they manage and maintain all sites on their network to ensure a reliable and consistent level of service for all electric vehicles.

The first of these sites is an EV charging hub at the new agritech business park in Rakaia, Canterbury. The first stage of this project will include two of Tritium’s modular 150kW fast chargers, each capable of simultaneous vehicle charging to service both passenger and fleet vehicles on site.