Australia is rapidly deploying electric vehicle charging stations as more families ditch fossil fuel-powered vehicles, but experts warn the rollout is starting to run into some hurdles.

Oil giant Ampol told investors this week that its plan to build 300 EV chargers at service stations was proceeding slower than hoped, amid challenges securing access to the electricity grid.

The company has 92 charging stations across the country, but 36 are awaiting power.

It comes as more motorists buy EVs, with the total number of sales surpassing 8 per cent of the broader market, though adoption rates recently slowed slightly as consumers buy more hybrid vehicles.

University of Technology Sydney research director Scott Dwyer said Australians need to have confidence that if they drive an EV suitable charging infrastructure will be available.

“It’s a big challenge,” he said.

“You have to keep pace with the number of EVs coming onto the road.”

The rollout of charging infrastructure remains a key challenge for Australia’s widespread adoption of electric vehicles, Dwyer said.

“We still have fewer charging stations as a ratio to EVs to similar countries,” Dwyer said.

Richard Savoie, CEO of Adiona, said that a lack of co-ordination over where chargers are needed most and what type of infrastructure is required has emerged as the key hurdle.

“It’s frustrating to watch, and I think a lot of the slowdown is somewhat due to lack of co-ordination between public and private sector right now,” he said.

“Consumers are now pivoting slightly more towards hybrids, partly due to misinformation about range anxiety and partly because of this lack of cohesion around charging networks.”

EV charging state of play

The number of electric vehicle charges across Australia rose 75 per cent between 2022 and 2023 according to data released by the Electric Vehicle Council.

However, there are still fewer than 1000 charging stations nationwide and only 229 ultra-fast chargers that are capable of supporting vehicle charging at 100 kilowatts or more.

Swinburne University professor Hussein Dia said the issues companies are facing when rolling out EV chargers are often related to their financial positions or profitability concerns rather than a reflection on the state of electric vehicle adoption among motorists.

“Even though we might not witness the same exponential growth this year as in the past few years, EV sales remain steady and healthy and are expected to accelerate now that we have more variety and EV models coming from China,” he explained.

There’s still more work to be done in expanding Australia’s network of chargers though, particularly across regional Australia.

“To ensure that Australians will have reliable and convenient access to public EV charging infrastructure, investments need to continue at a strong pace to keep up with the anticipated increase in EV adoption,” Dia said.

“The commercial benefits will flow for those companies with the right strategies and business models in place.”

How EV chargers work

One challenge facing the rollout of EV chargers is that there are many different technologies available depending on how fast motorists want their cars charged and, crucially, where they are.

Electric vehicle charges work by supplying electricity into a vehicle, usually through a plug mounted to a wall, or similar structure.

Times vary both by the type of vehicle being charged, and the capacity of the EV charger.

The slowest charges using regular wall outlets can only charge an electric vehicle by up to 15 kilometres of range per hour.

However, larger AC charges that can be installed, either at homes or at public stations, can use charge up to 130 kilometres of range per hour.

Then there are high-voltage DC fast chargers, which can add up to 420 kilometres of range to an electric vehicle per hour.