Busways Group

Project name Multi-depot electric bus system implementation
Client name Busways Group
The Client Busways is a large privately owned operator with a fleet of over 900 buses running Region 1 for TfNSW. This region will be subject to a procurement process later this year along with the current STA regions. 
Product or services provided ZET Advisory

BetterFleet

Client industry Transport
The Brief The brief required a model for the deployment of up to 200 electric buses in two depots as well as a detailed analysis of bus and charging infrastructure options.

Other requirements included:

  • Development of a strong position in this area to help with tender defence next year
  • Development of a strong position in this area to help with future bids in general
  • Requirement for a clear understanding of options for the EOI process launched by NSW Government
The Approach Evenergi used the GridFleet platform to emulate the performance of an electric fleet on the Busways routes including the energy costs and energy profile and full total cost of ownership including all required infrastructure upgrades. We also:

  • Overviewed partners and grants
  • Reviewed network constraints on facilities
  • Created understanding of potential for distributed energy generation and demand response to your facilities
  • Provided a high-level understanding of technologies required for the project (eBus, Charging, Energy) and level of readiness and appropriateness to Busways contex
  • Developed candidate ideas against evaluation criteria in collaboration with Busways
  • Provided a recommended EOI bid concept
Outcome Busways was able to secure funding from government for the initial 24 bus trial.Evenergi also arranged the energy supply partnerships with the largest energy retailer in the country and the local energy distribution business

AEMO

Project name Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) Electric Vehicle Grid Integration Task Force Standards Recommendations
Client name Australian Energy Market Operator
The Client The Australian Energy Market Operator performs an array of gas and electricity market, operational, development and planning functions. It manages the National Electricity Market, the Wholesale Electricity Market and the Victorian gas transmission network.
Product or services provided ZET Advsiory Client industry Network Providers
The Brief  The Distributed Energy Integration Program (DEIP) is a collaboration of government agencies, market authorities, industry and consumer associations aimed at maximising the value of customers’ Distributed Energy Resources (DER) for all energy users. 

This project contributes to the delivery of the DEIP EV Standards Taskforce (Taskforce) 2020 work plan.

The brief was to locate gaps in the EV grid integration standards landscape in Australia where the absence of a standard may lead to negative impact on consumers. It also included a request to catalogue international standards that may be candidates for adoption or modification to cater for the identified gaps.

The Approach
  • Context setting – providing an overview of current state of standards in Australia and potential for customer impacts related to standards implementation (or lack thereof)
  • Undertook a broad initial scan to identify key areas of the standards landscape for deeper analysis
  • Collaborated with AEMO and other Taskforce members to inform the direction of work and identify three to five priority standards areas for deeper research and analysis
  • Focused one on one sessions with identified stakeholders
  • Conducted a gap analysis against current state in Australia and analysis of local requirements.
  • Delivery of a draft report 
Outcome Ongoing

Australian Federal Government

Project name Approach to Market – EV Information and Communication Package
Client name Australian Federal Government – Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER)
The Client The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources is a department of the Australian Government responsible for consolidating the Government’s efforts to drive economic growth, productivity and competitiveness by bringing together industry, energy, resources and science
Product or services provided ZET Advisory Client industry Federal Government
The Brief The Australian Federal Government is developing a national EV strategy and sought a consultant to advise on best-practice engagement strategies for new electric vehicle purchasers. 
The Approach Evenergi was appointed to undertake a global market scan, literature review, and Australian market gap analysis to articulate where the Federal Government could add the most value, and then developed a strategy, content plan and draft content and tools to enable execution of strategy. The approach included: 

  • A high level global market scan of the electric vehicle landscape
  • Gap analysis with global and local context and synthesis best practices
  • A proposed hypotheses based on both academic and case study evidence
  • Application of a user centred design approach to develop user segments and user journeys
  • Developed a content strategy based on insights from the research
  • Presented a suite of information validated against hypotheses, user segments and user journeys
The Result Our breakthrough research findings which synthesised technology adoption literature with existing Australian consumer context,  enabled a strong and  practical position for the Federal Government to assist in enhancing customers ability to make informed decisions.  

ACT Government

Project name Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) strategy
Client name ACT Government
The Client ACT Government is the governing body that manages the Australian Capital Territory. It is responsible for (amongst other things) health, education and transport, policing and garbage collection. ACT has a target for 100% renewable energy by 2020 and is now looking to lead the world in electrification of transport. In 2019 it committed to electrification of 100% of its passenger vehicle fleet – representing over 600 vehicles and in 2020 will announce a series of other measures including electrification of its bus fleet. 
Product or services provided ZET Advisory Client industry State Government
The Brief The ACT government had made a significant commitment to electrification of its entire fleet. They required a partner to help them to create a fleet transition plan, a charging infrastructure strategy across over 50 sites and run stakeholder engagement including workshops and creation of communications documents  (one internal to the ACT Government and one for the broader community).
The Approach Evenergi created an organisation wide vehicle analytics database and ran analytics to determine the ideal vehicles for transition based on:

 

  • Detailed total cost of ownership modelling using BetterFleet
  • Site evaluations of key sites to understand potential charging infrastructure installation costs
  • Opportunities for optimisations based on shuffling vehicles between facilities, improved productivity, changing fleet policies

Evenergi created a detailed infrastructure implementation plan that included

  • Electrical and civil engineering review of 50 sites at a high level and then 10 sites in detail to provide cost estimates and technical design
  • Review of two major new facilities and advice around “future proof” infrastructure for each site
  • Analysis and documentation of all technical standards required for RFQ brief 
The Result Evenergy delivered the Fleet Transition Plan (FTP) for the largest fleet migration project in Australia to date – 600 vehicles and charging infrastructure. This led to over $10M in investment. 

CENTROC

Project name Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Study
Client name Central NSW Joint Organisation
About client Centroc, represents over 157,000 people covering an area of more than 47,000 sq kms. It  includes the Local Government Areas of Bathurst Regional, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Forbes,  Lachlan,  Oberon, Orange City, Parkes,  Weddin, and Central Tablelands County Council.
Product or services provided eMobility consulting Client industry Government
The Brief Centroc (now Central NSW Joint Organisation) is seeking to ensure that the Central NSW region is ready for the growing uptake in electric vehicles. This focuses mainly on providing a strategic regional plan for where demand for EV charging infrastructure will arise, ideally suited sites for charging infrastructure, and what type of charging service will be expected by users.
The Approach Evenergi developed a regional charging infrastructure plan based on modelling of travel routes, charging infrastructure, driver personas and network constraints. We worked with the councils to identify ideal sites from a tourism perspective. Services included:

 

  • Electric vehicle adoption forecasting
  • Validating access to power
  • Infrastructure planning and investment in charging infrastructure networks
  • Reporting and presentations
  • Forecasting – 40 year forecasts
  • Charging infrastructure economic modelling
  • Charging infrastructure strategic planning
Outcome The map developed for the charging infrastructure by Evenergi will lead to application for grants and private sector investment  in the region of $1.5 M

DPIE

Project name Public EV charging performance study
Client name NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
The Client The NSW Government has established an array of programs in support of net zero emissions by 2056. These include key pillars such as the Future Transport Technology Roadmap and the Future Transport 2056 strategy. The 2056 strategy sets the 40-year vision, directions and principles for customer mobility in NSW, guiding transport investment over the longer term. It is focused on 6 principles:

  • Customer focused
  • Successful places
  • A strong economy
  • Safety and performance
  • Accessible services
  • Sustainability

In March 2020, Matt Kean MP, announced the first stage of the Net Zero Plan focused on the period 2020 – 2030. The Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020-2030 is the foundation for NSW’s action on climate change and goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050. It outlines the NSW Government’s plan to grow the economy, create jobs and reduce emissions over the next decade.

The Net Zero Plan Stage 1 commitment and Future Transport NSW Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Plan articulate the role of zero emissions transport in the broader net zero emissions commitment. The project is part of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and Model Availability Program, a component of the NSW Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Plan. 

Product or services provided Electric vehicle and charger testing Client industry Government
The Brief As part of the NSW Net Zero 2050 plan, the NSW Government is undertaking a study to analyse charging performance of BEVs under different public, fast charging scenarios with the objective of disseminating information on BEV charging performance. This information will assist drivers in understanding and planning for publicly charging their vehicle and creating a reliable data-set for internal decision making within the Department of Planning Industry and Environment (DPIE). 

Requirements included:

  • Desktop research to establish market context and understanding within the team
  • Test planning and documentation
  • Test-drives and logistics
  • Data capture and analytics
  • Desktop research
  • Creation of an internal report for DPIE
  • Data presentation and communications to a broad audience
The Approach Evenergi brought together key industry partners NRMA, Tesla, Hyundai, Chargefox and Geotab to coordinate and deliver a complex vehicle and charger testing regime. A carefully crafted testing regime was undertaken to deliver raw charging and driving performance data via charger-side and vehicle-side data collection. Detailed and time-stamped performance attributes were extracted to deliver clear insights into AC and DC public charger performance across different vehicles and charger power.

Project components:

  • Desktop review
  • Creation of hypothesis to be tested
  • Vehicle sourcing 
  • Charging site identification
  • Training and briefing of test drivers
  • Test objectives and test plans
  • Conducting testing
  • Data collection and analysis
  • Development of the final report
The Result Evenergi’s abilities to synthesise bulk data provided detailed insights into public charging performance across different vehicles and charger power levels. These insights were presented in raw form and further synthesized into key messaging for public consumption. 

South Australian Government

Project name State wide charging infrastructure plan
Client name South Australian Department of Energy and Mining
The Client The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) is the State’s economic development agency responsible for investment attraction, management and regulation of South Australia’s energy and mineral sectors. The focus of the Department is to deliver affordable, reliable and secure energy supplies in a transitioning national energy market while responsibly unlocking the value and opportunities of our mineral and energy resources.
Product or services provided ZET Advisory Client industry Government
The Brief The SA DEM needed Evenergi to determine and present a report on the minimum level of coverage and the minimum number of stations – by location – that would be required to achieve a level of state wide coverage. These findings would need to effectively mitigate regional charging as a barrier for metropolitan and regional community EV uptake.
The Approach Evenergi conducted a thorough analysis of the state transport network to determine the appropriate scope and design for public charging infrastructure state-wide, that would remove the perception and reality of charging as a barrier to EV uptake. 

The report also focused on what the appropriate role for government is in this space, and was designed to inform a Cabinet Submission for funding consideration. Steps included:

  • Route identification
  • For each key route identified, EV traffic volumes were forecasted out to 2030
  • Locations were identified based on their ability to meet EV charging requirements. Each route was analysed using Evenergi’s model  to determine battery state of charge along the route and stations are placed to facilitate journey enablement.
  • Suitable charging technology was selected and rated based on location type: stop-over, stay-over or overnight.
  • The minimum viable network was identified to alleviate range anxiety for drivers and to help inform potential South Australian Government investment decisions.
  • A global scan of best practise policy was conducted to ignite private investment in public charging infrastructure.
The Result The report developed by Evenergi has become a keystone in SA Government’s policy setting and planning to boost electric vehicle uptake in the state. It will unlock $20M of private and public funding over the next five years. Feedback from client and Cabinet was that it was a “seminal” piece of work.

Gippsland Climate Group

Project name Charging the regions
Client name Gippsland Climate Group
The Client Gippsland Climate Group was funded by the Victorian State Government and comprises five local governments. The group of councils were looking to understand the potential investment in charging infrastructure.
Product or services provided ZET Advisory

BetterFleet

Client industry Government
The Brief As well as understanding the potential investment in charging infrastructure, Gippsland Climate Group wanted to also identify the potential business models they could adopt to gain investment from grants, private sector or as a commercial enterprise directly. 
The Approach Evenergi was commissioned to create a regional charging infrastructure plan across a large part of regional Victoria. The project involved working closely with councils to understand:

  • Existing infrastructure and modelling of the increase in charging infrastructure demand over time.
  • Travel data, analysis of appropriate charging locations based on site suitability, and our BetterFleet algorithms, tourism maps, network constraints, EV adoption analysis, technology assessment. 

As a result, Evenergi provided

  • A charging infrastructure tool-kit for local councils and internal presentation material to enable selling to internal stakeholders within councils
  • Advice around planning regulation alignment between five councils to harmonise the process of approvals for new charging infrastructure
  • Provision of a strategic plan and direction for how the councils should participate in the value chain for charging infrastructure provision
The Result Evenergi developed a regional charging infrastructure plan based on a range of inputs. We worked closely with key personnel within each council to ensure a foundation of capability was being seeded, finally presenting train-the-trainer workshops to support overall skills as well as alignment across the region.

The report is currently being lodged to await for significant funding from the state government and has helped with attracting private investment.