Cooking oil powered vehicle generators are already under use. (Source: Reuters/Twitter)Australia’s Nullarbor is a wide region of a remote treeless plain that stretches 684 miles between South and Western Australia. This stretch has not been popular among electric vehicle drivers due to the lack of fast-charging stations. Now, a charging point fuelled by leftover cooking oil is set to change this.
Developed by retired engineer Jon Edwards, a fast-charging point that is backed with cooking oil has been installed at Caiguna Roadhouse situated in the middle of Nullarbor. The charging point procures discarded cooking oil from restaurants that use deep fryers.
ABC News reported that charging electric vehicles for long distances in the Nullarbor region takes anywhere between four to six hours, as drivers are forced to use outdated AC chargers. However, with the cooking oil-powered refuelling points, this time is cut to minutes. “With this charger, you’ll be able to grab a burger and a coffee and have a read of a paper, and by that time, you’re ready to go,” Edwards told ABC News.
Drivers in the remote Australian outback are using cooking fat to charge their electric vehicles more quickly pic.twitter.com/F9xFvbnJ4M
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— Reuters (@Reuters) January 18, 2022
So you can drive to anywhere hot chips are served! https://t.co/5s05uVPtXj
— We Need To Talk (@PlagueBoth) January 19, 2022
It’s a better use of that stuff than to ingest it!
— Michael Williamson (@BeachTruck) January 18, 2022
Brilliant & truly eco friendly plus easily & cheaply scalable #EV #charging https://t.co/pgC5rpHoXx
— Milan Asanovic (@SphereByMilan) January 19, 2022
Australia leads the way… https://t.co/wJ7x41SV9i
— Rob MacSween 🇦🇺 (@RobMacAUS) January 19, 2022
Fascinating! #EV https://t.co/lNswbGyQEu
— Rishi Suri (@rishi_suri) January 19, 2022
The fast charging option is expected to increase the number of electric vehicles passing through the Nullarbor plains. As of now, the Nullarbor plains see low volume traffic of electric cars that has made it unprofitable for businesses to build fast-charging stations.
“The leftover “biofuel” used in the fast-charging generator is carbon neutral,” Edwards added. Though the claim of cooking oil fuel being “carbon neutral” is contested. However, experts believe that cooking oil fuel is less polluting than other fuels like diesel.
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