Australia is now set to be home to one of the world’s longest electric highways.Queensland has unveiled plans for the Electric Super Highway, a series of fast-charging stations in 18 cities and towns it hopes will encourage the uptake of electric vehicles.
This project is ambitious, but we want as many people as possible on board the electric vehicle revolution, as part of our transition to a low emissions future,” the state’s acting roads minister, Steven Miles, said in a statement.
The state’s government claims it’ll be the world’s longest stretch of electric highway in one state, at nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles), making it possible to drive from the Gold Coast on the state’s southern border to Cairns in the far north without running out juice.
“They will be available for use at no cost for the initial phase of the super highway so we can encourage as many people as possible to start using them,” Miles added.
While Australia has numerous electric charging stations around the country, there is a minority of fast-charging stations, which can charge EVs in 30 minutes.
There’s a cluster of fast-charging stations in Western Australia, which forms the RAC Electric Highway, and along the Hume Highway, which connects the major cities of Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney.
Electric Vehicle Council CEO Behyad Jafari said the move was an “important step” in supporting the use of electric vehicles.
“This initial support from government serves as a signal that Queensland is serious about electric vehicles,” he added, saying it provided “the opportunity for investment to grow our economy and create new, high skilled jobs.”
