Submission to the Inquiry into Electricity Supply for Electric Vehicles

Battery electric vehicles now account for 11.3% of all new vehicle purchases in Australia, with 76,443 vehicles sold in the first 9 months of this year (up 9% on 2024). AEMO’s Integrated System Plans predicts 12 million (63%) EVs in Australia under its most conservative ‘progressive change’ scenario and 21 million EVs (97%) under its ‘step change’ scenario, by 2050. 

ATSE’s Power to the people: Demand side management explainer highlights the impact of EVs on demand management and many of the technological options to support demand side management. It also covered the role EVs may play in energy storage through bidirectional charging technologies. 

This submission to the Inquiry into Electricity Supply for Electric Vehicles argues that different charging technologies for EVs are required in different situations and that opting for a mix of chargers at different speeds can provide choice and reduce the cost the EV infrastructure. It also argues that charging EVs during the day, during periods of peak solar generation, can help to negate the impact of EV charging on the grid. Investing in infrastructure to support daytime charging at both daytime parking locations and in social housing will help reduce the grid impacts. ATSE also argued for support for bidirectional charging, which allows EVs to be used as home battery systems and support for the EV battery recycling industry until economies of scale can be established, noting small scale battery recycling already occurring in Victoria. 

Recommendations from ATSE’s submission 

Recommendation 1: Invest in charging technologies to support different use cases with varying charging speeds, to allow for choice for motorists and reduce range anxiety. 

Recommendation 2: Support parking facility owners to install charging infrastructure, through incentives and regulation mandates, and install charging infrastructure in all suitable government owned and managed parking facilities. 

Recommendation 3: Invest in upgrades to social housing to provide tenants with access to consumer energy resources such as rooftop solar and home battery storage systems, while supporting affordability schemes for lower- and middle-income households, to allow households to shift grid demand when charging EVs. 

Recommendation 4: Ensure Victorian energy network operators allow for bi-directional charging for EVs supported by fair tariff structures. 

Recommendation 5: Leverage Sustainability Victoria to support the development of EV battery re-use and recycling programs until economies of scale can be established through widespread EV adoption and battery recycling.