Electric vehicle charging station company plugs into capital boost to amp up production, innovation

Brisbane-based Tritium is set to roll out $60 million in orders for its state-of-the-art electric vehicle charging stations and predicts a further post-pandemic rush of orders.

Tritium CEO Jane Hunter and head of corporate development David Toomey.

A POWER boost to the coffers of cutting edge Brisbane-based electric vehicle charging station company Tritium is set to amp up its production to fuel the world’s accelerating shift to transport electrification.

The latest surge of $60 million in orders — a total of 1500 of its state-of-the-art EV charging stations — will be rolled out at its Murarrie manufacturing facility over the next six months.

It is also predicting a further post-pandemic rush of orders with many overseas government stimulus packages targeting the electrification of transport.

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Tritium has already deployed more than 4500 of its stations with advanced DC fast charging technology across 33 countries in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

In a turning point for the tech company, the initial growth of which has been driven by venture capital, it recently secured a $45 million private placement debt funding deal with US health insurance giant Cigna Corp to power up its next phase of expansion.

It plans to use the funds to refinance an Export Finance Australia trade finance facility and to increase production capacity as well as keep its charging infrastructure technology ahead of the game.

“This is a welcome capital injection as the company continues to grow operations and invests in new product development and global marketing,” said Tritium chief executive officer Jane Hunter.

Tritium’s Jane Hunter and David Toomey.

Ms Hunter was previously chief operating officer of Boeing Phantom Works, the aerospace company’s advanced prototyping arm.

She was involved in developing the Loyal Wingman drone, the first Australian designed and built aircraft in more than 50 years.

It was the future industry manufacturing and R & D technology synergies that attracted her to the role at Tritium.

“There are some exciting deals and product launches ahead for Tritium, and we have an incredibly dedicated team helping to grow this Australian manufacturing success story,” she said.

“The recent orders are on the back of more traditional sectors such as fuel retail, automotive and utilities joining the rollout of EV charging infrastructure and the general acceleration of electric vehicle uptake in Europe and the US.”

Tritium’s head of corporate development David Toomey said it was likely its production would be amped up further post-pandemic “given the sheer amount of stimulus packages being released by governments around the world”.

“What they are targeting overseas is the electrification of transport and that’s driven by the fact that if you are going to spend money you might as well spend it on a future industry and something that’s good for the community in term s of lowering emissions and dealing with greenhouse gases.”

The innovative company’s chairman, key backer and largest shareholder (27 per cent) is energy kingpin and rich-lister Trevor St Baker.

Trevor St Baker in an electric Tesla car. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

Billionaire resources investor Brian Flannery also holds a stake and in 2018 global fuel pump giant Gilbarco Veeder-Root paid $58 million for a 19.5 per cent share.

About 50-60 per cent of Tritium’s market is currently in Europe, 30 per cent in the US and the remainder in Australia and New Zealand.

Ms Hunter said the company’s growth had been doubling year-on-year, corresponding with the increasing uptake of electric vehicles and the need to roll out charging infrastructure.

“There’s no reason we won’t hit that target and double again in 2020-21,” she said. “We’re one of the few Australian manufacturing companies that is exporting the bulk of our product to the world and it is an advanced technology.”