BP Pulse opens first EV chargers in Australia

Oil and gas giant BP has opened its first electric vehicle (EV) charge station in Australia under its BP Pulse sub-brand, located in Melbourne’s outer north-east.

UPDATE, 21/10 4:10pm: We’ve updated this story with pricing per kWh, according to the BP Pulse website.

Located at the Diamond Creek BP on the fringe of Melbourne, the station is one of the first of “just under 1000” chargers that will be rolled out across Australia and New Zealand BP destinations as part of a deal between the fuel company and Australian EV charging firm, Tritium.

Two vehicles will be able to be charged at a time, with the chargers offering both CHAdeMO and CCS plugs, capable of charging at a rate up to 75kW each – but the company says the stations are capable of being upgraded to 150kW. According to the BP Pulse website, initial pricing will be set at $0.55/kWh .

The chargers have already logged a number of user check-ins on online EV charger directory Plugshare, by owners of numerous vehicle brands including Tesla and Hyundai.

In March, BP announced a £1 billion UK EV charging infrastructure expansion, with plans to triple its charge points by the end of this decade. Brisbane-based Tritium has become a global leader in the development and manufacture of scalable public charging, with a huge presence across key EV regions in Europe and the United States.

BP is not the only fuel provider to move into the electric charging space, with rival Ampol opening its first AmpCharge location in Alexandria, New South Wales, in August.

Like BP, Ampol is planning a network of chargers at fuel stations across the country, and has currently committed to 120 charge sites by December 2023. The company has plans to establish Australia’s leading EV charging network by 2030.

The Ampol rollout is part of an agreement with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced in July last year, with ARENA providing partial funding through the federal Future Fuels Fund – billed last year as $7.05 million from a total $26.81m investment.

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MORE: Ampol begins EV charging station rollout MORE: BP planning local EV charger network with Tritium