True Blue, an Aussie EV future to drive towards

It’s 26 January 2023. Festivities, protests, and citizenship ceremonies are taking place all over the country, while at 44 Orchard Rd, Brookvale, the glaring Aussie sun beams down on Colormaker Industries’ 100kW rooftop solar array.

This generates electricity to power not only the business, a crucial ingredient given owner David Stuart’s modus operandi is, “ensuring there’s a little bit of Australian sunshine in every drop we make”, but the solar energy harnessed also fuels the 3 electric vehicles which Colormaker deploy for deliveries and staff transport, an electric forklift (no more LPG on site), an energy efficient air compressor and a small battery to soak up surplus electricity too.

David’s a man on a mission, setting the target, ambitious to others but beyond reasonable to him, of ensuring Colormaker is net zero by the end of 2024, with the www.colormaker.com.au home page showcasing the countdown to this crucial date, with the all-important call to action, “We don’t have a moment to lose.” Since first powering up the solar array on 18 September 2019, Colormaker Industries has already saved well over 500 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from entering the atmosphere. 

I’ve been invited today by David to meet another man on a mission, Greg McGarvie, managing director of ACE EV, an Australian company leading the charge to manufacture light, commercial, fully electric vehicles here in Oz, and work towards restoring our position globally as a car manufacturing driving force. Like all eminent tech companies, ACE EV began out of a home garage. Greg’s professional background is in business, marine education, and training sciences, but it’s predominantly his interest in the marine environment that’s led to his passion for decarbonising the automobile industry.

In the works now, ACE EV will soon be launching their range of fully electric, light commercial vehicles and cars made for tradies and city living, comprising the V1 Transformer, Cargo, Yewt, and Urban models. “The rise of the electric vehicle market over the past decade has been extraordinary,” Greg explains. “Auto manufacturers have gone from barely registering the possibilities of EV technology to embracing it. Now every major manufacturer has an EV strategy, and the future of the industry looks bright for battery powered.”

David is first in line to acquire an ACE EV commercial vehicle the moment they’re ready. “An ACE EV will figure prominently in Colormaker’s freight/transport carbon abatement plan as Colormaker strives to reach net zero by the end of 2024,” David says.

“EVs charged directly from rooftop solar must represent one of the greatest opportunities that Australia has, not only to reduce carbon emissions, but also to reduce our reliance on imported fuels. This will not only be good for our terms of trade, keeping more dollars in Australia, but also for national sovereignty, security and for rebuilding resilience in local communities.”

As Dr Christina Kirsch of The Solar Alliance pointed out in March 2022, “35% of the total 1.5 square kilometres of the Brookvale commercial area is rooftop. Take away 25% as unsuitable for solar panels due to shading, slope or orientation, you’re left with 390,000 square metres just waiting to generate power from the sun, equivalent to 30 Brookvale Ovals.” It’s safe to assume the vast majority of these businesses have fleets of vehicles that could benefit from a solar powered EV future too.