The electric vehicle market in Australia continues to boom – last year we saw a 161% increase in EV sales compared from 2022. Growth has continued this year, with EVs comprising 10% of all car sales, compared to 8% last year. As demand grows, questions surrounding the readiness of the country’s charging infrastructure have arisen, and while the Government invests in more infrastructure this year, two CEOs have also taken the charge to ensure our roads and residential and commercial buildings are ready to serve the increasing population of EV drivers.
Australia’s Need for EVs and EV Chargers:
With a 161% increase in EV sales last year and EVs now comprising 10% of all car sales, how do you assess Australia’s current readiness to support this growing demand?
There has been a significant rise in the number of public chargers to match increased EV sales from several Charge Point Operators (CPO) and the ability to access chargers continues to improve. Most CPOs are continuing to roll out sites in Metropolitan and Regional locations with Federal and State Government grants available to encourage continued growth.
What do you see as the most critical infrastructure needs for supporting EV adoption in Australia?
Most people want to charge at home and freestanding homes are able to install a EV charger for a relatively affordable price without costly power upgrades. Multi Dwelling Units (MDU) are more tricky as they are unable to simply add an EV charger for each unit due to a number of factors, including insufficient spare power available without a power upgrade from the Network Supplier and the difficulty metering individual power usage in the carpark. Fortunately, in most cases there is now a solution to install some smart hardware that monitors the MDU’s power consumption and can control the amount of power being drawn by the EV chargers in order to ensure the demand doesn’t exceed supply.
Role in the Economy:
How do you foresee the expansion of EV charging infrastructure impacting the Australian economy, both in the short term and long term?
Australia is very susceptible to fluctuations in the oil price and we’re all aware of the current high fuel prices. As Australia invests in renewable energy sources to power EVs, we can reduce our reliance on oil, insulating our economy from geopolitical tensions and market fluctuations in the oil industry. EVs are much cheaper to run and maintain, with savings for the transport sector flowing through the economy as well as benefits to the individual EV owner.
Can you discuss the potential job creation and economic benefits that might arise from increased EV infrastructure?
The development of a widespread charging network will create jobs in manufacturing and installation, as well as maintenance and support services; the EV charging industry is a fast-growing sector with the potential to boost employment opportunities.
EV Charger Rollout Plans:
What are your specific plans for rolling out EV chargers across Australia? Can you map out where and when these installations will occur?
BSA is an infrastructure services company, and we provide an installation and maintenance service for our customers who are typically CPOs. However, we are aware of plans to grow the public charging network both along major highways and in metro and regional centres. There is an ongoing discussion between councils, infrastructure providers, and users as to where and what type of chargers are best in what instance and that will be interesting to follow.
How did you determine the locations for the initial installations in residential, commercial buildings, and public areas like Beechworth and Benalla?
BSA undertakes installations at locations requested by our customers, this can be as simple as installing a charger and connecting it to existing infrastructure through to, feasibility studies, council planning permits, network upgrades, installation, and commissioning for large scale sites.
Rationale Behind Entering the EV Market:
Why did you and your team decide to settle on the EV market as a key area for growth and investment?
BSA is an infrastructure services company with over 20yrs experience of large scale infrastructure rollouts Pay TV, Fixed and Wireless Communications for Residential and Commercial settings for some of the largest companies in Australia. BSA has a proven ability to provide both a world class customer experience and a Field Service Management capability handling over 1 million installations a year.
This experience together with our existing large Smart Metering Electrician workforce mean we have synergies across our existing business and a geographical reach across Australia to support our expansion in the EV market.
How does the EV market align with BSA Limited’s long-term strategic goals?
We at BSA are very excited about the transition to EV and the opportunities that it provides us in areas that complement our existing skillset as well as the environmental benefits. The estimated market for install and equipment in 2025 is $2b and this is expected to grow to $72b by 2055 and BSA is well placed to expand our EV Charging capability.
Future Plans and Vision:
What are your future plans for BSA Limited in the EV sector beyond the current rollout of charging stations?
BSA wants to be the EV partner of choice offering an end-to-end solution for our customers offering a broad range of services including:
Residential installation
Commercial installation
Chargepoint installation
Consultancy
Operations and Maintenance
Can you share your vision for the future of EV infrastructure in Australia and how BSA Limited plans to contribute to that vision?
According to recent census data from the ABS, passenger vehicles account for over 70% of vehicles in Australia and over 75% of kilometres travelled. With an average of less than 300km travelled per passenger vehicle per week, most households will be able to charge at home once a week for a fraction of the cost they are spending on petrol today. As EVs become increasingly more affordable, the development of residential EV charging infrastructure will become a major solution to household cost of living challenges this will lead to EV infrastructure will being installed in almost all dwellings in Australia, with Public Charging still being a necessary part of the puzzle for those occasions when you need a quick top up or are undertaking a road trip. BSA, with our expertise, will be a partner of choice for companies who needs to ensure their customer has the right EV Charging solution but whose core business is not installing EV chargers.
Technological Innovations:
Your team has successfully installed premium charging stations that significantly reduce charging times. Can you elaborate on the technology behind these fast chargers and any plans for further innovations?
AC charging is the most common type of charging and is what is installed in homes and frequently in shopping centres and workplaces and typically takes 5-12 hrs to fully charge.
DC Charging by its nature allows for much great transfer of power, bypassing the vehicle’s onboard charger and providing DC power directly to the battery at rates that allow charging to 80% of capacity in as little as 15-20 mins.
Are there any upcoming technological advancements or partnerships that you are particularly excited about?
BSA is very excited about Vehicle to Grid (V2G) which will allow the EV battery to be connected to the grid when plugged into an EV charger. The Australian standard is currently being written to allow this innovation but what this will allow is the owner to do is potentially use their EV as a battery and draw some of their power from the EV during peak load times such as between 5-9pm and then top the car back up at low-cost times e.g. midnight to 6am or at peak solar production times.
In NSW Ausgrid has recently announced two-way pricing that will commence on July 1st and we believe other network providers across Australia will also look at similar tariffs to help smooth out the load as we continue our transition to renewables. We see V2G as a key component to enable network smoothing at scale.
About BSA
BSA is an Australian-owned and operated ASX-listed company with over 50 years’ experience delivering fixed-line and wireless Telco services, smart metering services and premium EV charging station installations. BSA provides services to Australia’s household brands, including nbn, Foxtel and TPG. The BSA team is comprised of over 300 employees and over 1000 skilled field technicians focused on building strong, long-term relationships with customers and partners in the Telco and EV sectors. https://www.bsa.com.au/
About Richard Bartley
Richard Bartley is Joint Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer at BSA. He brings a wealth of experience to the role and has been instrumental in the growth and success of the Company’s continuing operations. Richard’s leadership of the CUI Business Unit over the last 4 years has ensured a strong position to support future growth plans. Richard excels in the engagement of his people and customers. He has a proven track record in operational excellence, continuous improvement and innovation – invaluable drivers for the Company’s further success. Richard has over 25 years’ experience across Australian and International Media & Entertainment, Telco and Professional Services sectors.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bartley-a3621226/
About Arno Becker
Arno Becker is Joint Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer at BSA. He has been with BSA for 6 years in various leadership roles, including as Interim CEO from May 2022 and CFO from March 2020. Before joining BSA, Arno held several senior finance and leadership roles in Australia and Namibia, most notably at Leighton Contractors (CPB), Fulton Hogan and Namibia Construction. Arno has extensive experience in financial management, shared services, business prioritisation and contract management.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arno-becker-72b97733/
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