2 hours ago
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Electric Cars
A new Australian start-up is seeking to expand Australia's electric vehicle (EV) charging network by serving as an intermediary between electric car owners and people who want to monetise their at-home charging points.
Melbourne-based company Chargeaway is still in its infancy, but bills itself as an "Airbnb for electric car charging", allowing homeowners to list their charging stations and power outlets for EV owners to access for a small fee.
"The whole concept is if you have a charging station accessible, rather than having it side there idle, you can earn a little bit of money by making it accessible," says Basil Hyman, strategy advisor for Chargeaway. "It can be anything from kerbside to carport," he adds.
A charging outlet is eligible to appear on the Chargeaway app as long as it is accessible to the public, and chargers listed on the app range from a 10-amp power socket in a driveway to a designated wallbox with three-phase power.
According to Chargeaway head of development Cyrus Rafizadeh, it takes "30 seconds" to sign up to the app as either a driver or host.
"You'll look at a map and see all the dots [showing available chargers] and you can book a nearby charger for now or later," he explains.
"We will handle the payments, take a small fee, and then the host gets the information and accommodates the booking. They don't really have to even be there."
Drivers can filter the chargers based on location, availability, charging power and whether or not it's backed by solar power. Meanwhile, hosts are able to set their own prices and can schedule or pause their listing depending on when their charger is in use.
The app uses a default rate of 69 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is based on a raw energy cost of between 30 to 50 cents per kilowatt-hour.
"We've suggested a default rate that’s moderately beneficial for the host, but if they want it to be more worthwhile they can raise the rate, or if they just want to be helpful [to EV drivers] they can drop it," Mr Rafizadeh says.
For now, the majority of hosts are located in capital cities, but the app is national in scope and the Chargeaway team is deep in the recruiting phase for new hosts.
"We've done the hard part, which is basically building the technology and getting the infrastructure right, and now it’s about scaling it," Mr Hyman says.
To accelerate the number of hosts on the app, the company even gifted early hosts with electric car chargers.
"One of our most exciting realisations was that our target market is anyone who has a garage, driveway or power outlet – anyone can go buy a 10-amp charger and essentially become a petrol station, there’s no real barrier to entry," Mr Rafizadeh tells Drive.
"We've put our own office charger on there, and one of our thoughts was 'Why wouldn't big corporates with charging stations make them available on weekends?'."
Of course, they acknowledge there could be challenges in terms of accessbility and safety, which they expect will be covered by a "robust terms of service", a peer review and rating system, and the Chargeaway team's ability to respond quickly to user concerns.
"We also have been monitoring the early hosts closely and diligently because it’s been growing at a comfortable pace, so if anything were to happen we would immediately jump in and support them," Mr Rafizadeh says.
"People are already doing this with Airbnb, but people are in their house and in their beds – this is just a driveway."
Susannah Guthrie has been a journalist for over a decade, covering everything from world news to fashion, entertainment, health and now cars. Having previously worked across titles like The New Daily, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, People Magazine and Cosmopolitan, Susannah now relishes testing family cars with the help of her husband and three-year-old son.
