OUT OF THE FRYING PAN, INTO THE ...CHARGER! by John Crawford

Yet another example of Aussie ingenuity and innovation, comes from the unlikely location of the Caiguna Roadhouse on the desolate Nullarbor Plain.

Inventor Jon Edwards has harnessed the power of ‘chip fat’ – waste vegetable oil, to create a world-first EV charging system!

Recently the unique EV charger powered a Polestar 2 for a cross-country journey from South Australia to Western Australia. 

And, get this, the whole damn thing is a completely net-zero exercise, with no incremental impact on the environment.

 

The inventor says: “The cost of installing an equivalent solar-powered EV fast charger would be over five times the cost of building our new unit, known as the BiØfil system.”

 

Edwards added: “Solar energy would not have been cost-effective for such a low traffic location, making BiØfil an environmentally-friendly interim solution for EVs driving across the Nullarbor right now”

 

BiØfil’s proponents identified that the proposed electric vehicle highway in Western Australia left a gap on the Nullarbor, saying that the Caiguna Roadhouse EV charger is critical to anyone wishing to complete an around-Australia trip by EV.

BiØfil plugging a gap, and inventor Jon Edwards

Caiguna is positioned 370km east of Norseman, and 370km west of the South Australian border, making it the ideal halfway point for a recharge.

 

The BiØfil fast charging unit extracts energy from waste oil using a generator. The vegetable oil used in food fryers comes from seed crops, such as canola and sunflower, which absorb CO2 and sunlight, and the CO2 produced to power the EV charger is equivalent to the CO2 absorbed.

It’s truly a win-win for EV owners and the environment.

Polestar Australia MD, Samantha Johnson said: “Polestar is thrilled to share its passion for innovation and sustainability with visionaries like Jon Edwards. To turn a waste product into a CO2-neutral charging system is the sort of ingenuity which has led to so many Australian innovations."

JOHN CRAWFORD