Z installs first fast start EV charging station

The first electric vehicle rapid charging station at a service station in Christchurch opened for public use today at Z Moorhouse Avenue, Addington.

Z is installing six rapid-charge electric vehicle charging stations at sites in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch over the following weeks.

Charge Net is supplying the rapid-charge Tritium stations which draw up to 400 volts of electricity and can charge a standard electric vehicle in the time it takes a customer to buy and drink a cup of coffee.

Z Sustainability Manager, Gerri Ward, said the move was part of Z’s continued commitment to moving from being a part of the climate change problem to being at the heart of the solution.

“We’re not an oil company; we’re an energy transport company, and we’re committing to the needs of our customers, whatever they might be,” says Ward.

“We also want to be at the front of the push towards a cleaner, more sustainable New Zealand and to give Kiwis choices to use more renewable fuels,” says Ward.

The electric charging stations will cost approximately $5 – $10 for the vast majority of users ( such as a Nissan Leaf) to fill up, and the charge time from empty will be approximately 10 – 25 minutes, as opposed to up to eight hours for a conventional slow charge.

A 25-minute charge will “fill up” an entry-level electric vehicle such as a Leaf and allow customers to travel around 120 kilometres.