Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced 29 low emissions vehicle projects are being granted funding through the latest round of the government‘s Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund.

The announcement was made at Blackwell Motors Ltd in Christchurch, which has received co-funding to purchase and trial an electric truck to loan to their clients. The truck will be configured for clients to load and use for longer test runs than the norm, providing a test opportunity with realistic conditions and loads.

Dempsey Wood Civil Ltd and KAM Transport Ltd will also benefit from funding, allowing them to purchase and trial the integration of electric trucks into their businesses.

“These grants will include $4.5 million of government funding, matched by $12 million from the private sector,” says Woods. “This is the largest round of funding delivered so far, and shows how our smart investments in low emissions vehicles can unlock extra funding from the private sector.”

Initiatives like this have seen the number of electric vehicles on New Zealand‘s roads nearly triple. In October 2017 there were 5363 registered EVs, compared with 15,453 now.

“With transport making up 19% of our emissions, this is a key part of our plan to tackle climate change,” says Woods.

The 29 projects range from increasing the number and availability of public charging stations to heavy electric truck trials.

“The focus of the fund is to continue to improve public charging infrastructure for EV drivers, increase use of electric heavy vehicles, and invest in innovative technology, such as smart charging. We want to make it easier than ever for New Zealanders to get around in low emissions vehicles,” says Woods.

Other projects to receive co-funding from round six include:

• KiwiRail will install EV chargers on three Interislander Ferries for passengers to use in transit

• Kiwi Property will install 42 public EV chargers at popular shopping malls in Auckland and Hamilton (Sylvia Park, The Base, Centre Place)

• Holiday Parks will install 30 public double (i.e. allowing two cars to charge at a time) EV chargers at holiday parks throughout New Zealand, and,

• ChargeNet will install New Zealand‘s first high power charging hub at Bombay, which will be able to deliver up to 350kW per vehicle for up to four vehicles at once.

In total, the fund has committed $20.9 million in government funding to 120 projects, matched by $40.7 million applicant funding.

Round seven opened today and Woods challenged applicants to explore opportunities created by the new investment focus, which maintains support for the public EV charging network and low emission vehicles in a range of sectors, while also targeting smart charging technology innovation, battery refurbishment, recycling and repurposing, and demonstration of low emission vehicles in mobility-as-a-service. A further $3.1 million in government funding is available under this round.

Starting in round eight (opening in February 2020), the investment focus will also include support for publicly available secure e-bike storage facilities.