eLumina to manufacture EV chargers and BESS in Australia

eLumina is building its EV charger and BESS factory in Yatala, a suburb in Gold Coast (Queensland). This manufacturing facility is nearing completion, and according to a report from InnovationAus.com, the company plans to start operations there in August.

eLumina will manufacture its D1 all-in-one ultra-fast charger at the upcoming Australian plant. The company designed this charger, which only requires 10-40 kW of input power, for rural areas. The D1 charger offers customers convenience with tap and charge capability and supports charging two EVs simultaneously. It has both commonly used charging connectors – CCS2 and CHAdeMO.

The D1 charger consists of a 193 kWh LFP battery and can charge an EV with up to 160 kW. InnovationAus.com reports that eLumina plans to source the LFP battery cells of its locally manufactured chargers from Chinese supplier CATL. Lisa Marsh, the company’s co-founder and CEO, says the D1 charger costs AUD 250,000 (EUR 155,276), as per an article from The Driven.

eLumina’s upcoming production facility in Gold Coast will have an annual production capacity of 300 chargers. The company is already planning a three-times bigger factory and aims to start operations there by 2027.

Over 100,000 people in Gold Coast already drive electric cars. However, Australia’s EV charging infrastructure, especially for fast charging, needs significant improvement. According to local EV data analyser Carloop, the country has only 1,011 DC charging sites, with 1,999 DC chargers. Marsh says Australia has only one EV charger for every 35 electric cars, which is a poor ratio, especially compared to one EV charger per ten electric cars in other countries. eLumina aims to improve that figure with its locally-built products.

linkedin.com, innovationaus.com (paywall), thedrive.io, carloop.au