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Brisbane-based electric vehicle charger group Tritium DCFC (NASDAQ: DCFC) has partnered with Victoria’s JET Charge to build a 7,000km ‘EV highway’ in Western Australia that is touted to become the world's longest fast-charging network.
The supply agreement is part of a $43.5 million investment by the WA Government to expand EV infrastructure across the state with the partnership set to deliver 98 fast chargers to 49 sites. The program is supported by state government-owned energy providers Synergy and Horizon Power, with the network set to be fully operational by 2024.
Tritium, which produces high-powered 350kW fast chargers from its Brisbane factory, has only announced it will be supplying its 75kW modular fast chargers for the WA rollout.
JET Charge, a Melbourne company founded in 2013 to supply and install EV chargers, was awarded the contract in August. The company announced its partnership with Tritium today.
“It’s fantastic to see government policies supporting EV uptake in Australia,” says Tritium CEO Jane Hunter.
“Western Australia is a state with vast unpopulated distances, and governments have a role to play supporting highway electrification in rural and remote areas where site utilisation may not be profitable for private sector operators.
“We’re excited to be working with our partners at JET Charge on this fantastic project to electrify the Western Australian highways and we look forward to continuing to provide the fast charger hardware, software, and services needed to support rapid EV adoption here in Australia and around the world.”
Tritium, which has capacity to build 5,000 EV chargers a year from its Brisbane factory, will supply the first of the units for the WA contract for installation early next year. The EV highway is expected to run from Kununurra in the north to Esperance in the south and across to Eucla on the state’s south-eastern border.
JET Charge CEO Tim Washington says he is pleased to be working with Tritium as an Australian manufacturer to deliver the EV network.
“For almost a decade, JET Charge has been a leader in Australia’s transition to electric transportation,” he says.
“We're excited to partner with Tritium, which makes some of the most advanced chargers in the world right here in Australia. With help from partners like them, we will continue to increase access to charging technology across the country, giving every Australian the opportunity to drive electric.”
The supply agreement comes on the heels of a year of growth for Tritium which last week reported a record US$86 million ($133 million) in revenue for FY22, up 53 per cent. Sales orders of US$203 million ($213 million) are also at a record high, representing an increase of 232 per cent over the year.
However, one-off costs, including its NASDAQ listing, pushed the bottom line to a US$120 million ($186 million) loss.
Since its debut on the NASDAQ earlier this year, Tritium's stock has fallen from just shy of the US$10 mark down to US$3.55.
The company opened its second fast-charger manufacturing plant last month - its first in the US - which will scale up to produce 6,000 charger units annually by December this year and 28,000 units a year by December next year. However, Tritium announced last week that the US facility was experiencing a shortfall in production volumes with the Tennessee factory running six weeks behind schedule.
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