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About the Smart Charging Trials
The South Australian government invested in Electric Vehicle (EV) Smart Charging Trials with projects addressing integration risks, service gaps and ways in which electric vehicles can be coordinated to charge.
The trials ensured that EV Smart Chargers were compatible with current vehicle models, provided the best charging conditions during periods of high renewable energy generation or low grid demand, simplified billing, offered customer convenience, provided route flexibility, and addressed road trip anxiety.
The EV Smart Charging Trials focused on the following priority areas:
- Virtual Power Plant (VPP) integration
- Adelaide CBD off-street car parks (non-ancillary)
- Hotel, motel and holiday parks
- Commercial fleets
- Public rapid charging with time-of-use pricing
The results of the Smart Charging Trials will help inform future policy and pricing frameworks as South Australia continues to lead the nation in renewable integration and electric vehicle adoption. Further, insights from the trial can be used to inform future commercial business models and infrastructure planning to accelerate EV adoption and smart charging deployment across South Australia.
Grant recipients and reports
The AGL SA Smart Charging Trial installed 18 smart EV chargers in Wilson Parking's Adelaide CBD off street car parks. Additional installations supported a bundled EV leasing and smart charging commercial fleet model, with chargers placed at employees' homes and up to 6 chargers at commercial fleet premises to support 6 electric fleet vehicles.
Using a combination of EV charging telemetry, fleet booking data and controlled‑charging experiments, the trial examined how commercial and fleet drivers use charging infrastructure. Charging behaviour was then influenced through dynamic price signals, event-based controls, and time‑of‑use (TOU) charging schedules designed to shift load to lower‑cost, lower‑emission periods.
The trial successfully demonstrated how smart and controlled charging can reduce electricity costs, support grid efficiency, and improve user experience across both public and commercial fleet settings. It also confirmed strong opportunities to shift EV charging to solar sponge and off‑peak periods, with minimal user impact and significant operational benefits.
AGL SA Smart Charging Reports
Chargefox designed and delivered a new 120 kW DC fast‑charging site at Port Adelaide Plaza, using enhanced features within the Chargefox app and charging management platform to test how EV drivers respond to time‑of‑use (TOU) price signals. Over 12 months, a range of pricing structures – varying in level, complexity and price ratios – were trialled to assess behavioural responses under changing electricity market conditions.
The trial demonstrated that time-of-use (TOU) pricing can effectively shift EV charging to periods of abundant renewable energy, reducing peak demand and consequently improving grid stability. Driver behaviour proved responsive to pricing signals, particularly when pricing was simple, transparent, and aligned with user expectations of fairness.
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EVE Assets Pty Ltd (formerly ENGIE Australia), in partnership with Flinders University, delivered one of Australia’s largest Vehicle‑to‑Grid (V2G) smart‑charging demonstrations as part of South Australia’s Smart Charging Trial. The project deployed a total of 27 managed charging bays, integrating them into the University’s renewable‑powered energy system to test how electric vehicles can support grid stability during peak demand periods.
The site included 10 bidirectional V2G chargers operating within a Virtual Power Plant, 15 smart AC chargers managed by the University’s Energy Management System, and two 75 kW DC fast chargers for fleet and public use. Powered by 100% renewable energy – including onsite solar and contracted wind – the system enabled EVs to absorb excess generation, reduce energy use during high-price periods, and export energy back to the grid when most valuable.
During the trial, 8 to 16 vehicles participated monthly, demonstrating coordinated charging and discharging that supported peak reduction and load shifting. The project validated a scalable model for integrating EV fleets into energy systems, showing how organisations can reduce costs, increase renewable energy use, and enhance grid stability.
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JOLT examined how pricing incentives could influence EV charging behaviour and better distribute demand across the electricity network. The trial tested targeted discounts, peak surcharges, and charger-specific pricing to encourage charging during solar-aligned off-peak periods and reduce evening peak demand.
JOLT deployed a network that included fast‑charging units (up to 50 kW) supported by advertising‑funded display panels, enabling the introduction of dynamic pricing without increasing user costs. The SmartCharge program was delivered as an opt‑in product to ensure participants knowingly engaged with the experimental pricing model.
Results showed that off-peak discounts increased daytime charging during high renewable periods, while peak surcharges reduced evening demand by shifting charging earlier in the day. Charger-specific pricing also improved network utilisation by redistributing demand across sites.
The trial confirmed that clear, well-designed pricing incentives can effectively influence when and where EV drivers charge, supporting grid stability, improving infrastructure use, and aligning demand with renewable energy availability.
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The EV Smart Holiday Parks project, delivered at NRMA’s Victor Harbor Beachfront Holiday Park as part of South Australia’s Smart Charging Trials, installed 28 AC chargers (7 kW) across cabins and campsites, along with two bidirectional V2G-capable DC chargers. The site also included 30 kW of onsite solar and a load management system to operate within electrical constraints. The 12‑month trial (January 2024 to January 2025) assessed guest charging behaviour and responses to time-of-use pricing.
A four-tier pricing structure was introduced to encourage daytime, solar-aligned charging. However, results showed that guests prioritised convenience, with most charging occurring in the late afternoon and evening. Only a small proportion of charging took place during the midday solar window, indicating limited responsiveness to pricing signals in a holiday context.
Although V2G chargers were installed, they were not operational during the trial due to approval delays. Nonetheless, strong customer interest and long vehicle dwell times highlighted future potential for V2G at holiday parks.
Despite relatively low utilisation of the AC chargers, users reported positive experiences, valuing the convenience, affordability and ease of use. The trial demonstrated a viable “park, plug and holiday” model, showing how EV charging can enhance regional tourism amenities while supporting a transition to renewable-aligned charging.
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The UPark EV Fleet Smart Charging Trial, delivered by the City of Adelaide in partnership with Flow Power and UPark, explored how real-time electricity pricing could be integrated into commercial fleet charging to reduce costs and peak demand. Twelve 7 kW smart chargers were installed across two UPark sites and connected to Flow Power’s demand management system, designed to adjust charging in response to wholesale prices and renewable energy availability.
While the system was initially integrated successfully, technical issues following a firmware update disrupted communication between components, preventing real-time smart charging from operating for most of the trial.
Despite this, analysis of charging data showed strong potential for cost and emissions reductions if dynamic control had been fully functional. The trial also highlighted operational insights, including strong customer preference for bundled parking and charging products, which simplified fleet management.
Overall, the project demonstrated the viability of commercial car parks as EV charging hubs and confirmed the future value of wholesale price-linked smart charging for fleet operations.
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The Rocland Group and JET Charge delivered a smart charging demonstration at a new service station in Nuriootpa, installing five dual-port DC fast chargers (up to 75 kW per port) to support regional and highway EV users. The 12‑month trial (August 2023 – July 2024) tested how time-of-use (TOU) and dynamic pricing could shift charging away from peak demand and towards periods of high renewable energy generation.
A two-stage pricing model was introduced, with lower daytime rates and higher afternoon–evening peak charges. Results showed clear behavioural change, with peak charging reduced significantly and increased use during morning and midday periods. This shift also lowered average charging costs for users.
Operating on a constrained regional grid connection, the site used load management technology to deliver high-speed charging without requiring major infrastructure upgrades. Customer feedback highlighted strong satisfaction with location and accessibility, with cost and charging speed being key considerations.
While utilisation was modest, the trial demonstrated that smart, price-responsive highway charging can support grid stability and align with renewable energy availability, with strong potential to scale as EV adoption increases.
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Questions and answers
There was a total of nine funding recipients, with two recipients pulling out.
Initially $3.2 million was available through a competitive grant process; however, only seven projects ended up sharing $2.1 million in funding, as two funded projects did not proceed.
Approximately 102 smart chargers were targeted across 34 sites. Within this, the South Australian government supported the installation of 85 new smart chargers as part of the trial, including 4 of Jolt’s 21 public EV charging sites.
Summary of locations
| Flinders University | 1 site |
| Victor Harbor Holiday Park | 1 site |
| Rocland Estate (Nuriootpa) | 1 site |
| UPark | 2 sites (Topham Mall and Wyatt Street) |
| Chargefox - Port Adelaide Plaza | 1 site |
| AGL SA Smart Charging | 7 sites in total: 1 at CBD Wilson Parking; 4 at employee homes; 2 at business centres (Centacare and Uniting Communities) |
| JOLT Smart Charge network | There are 21 public charging sites across metro Adelaide; 4 of these sites were installed as part of the smart charging trial |
Details of sites are included in each project's final report description.
The grantees commenced their EV Smart Charging Trials at varying times, with the first trials in late 2022. Most trials concluded by mid-2025. The project is complete as of December 2025.
Across the EV Smart Charging Trials, several sites provided publicly accessible charging, while others were restricted to specific user groups.
Public DC fast charging was available at Rocland Estate in Nuriootpa, where the highway‑based rapid chargers were used by travellers and local EV owners, and the JOLT Smart Charge trial operated across JOLT’s publicly accessible metropolitan network.
At Flinders University, AC and DC chargers were open to public users while V2G chargers were fleet‑only. In contrast, UPark’s smart charging trial served only commercial fleet and corporate customers, and the Victor Harbor Holiday Park chargers were intentionally limited to holiday park guests rather than the general public.
