Steve West, CEO and Co-founder of ChargeNet, has received national recognition at the annual Sustainable Business Awards. Steve received the highly anticipated Sustainability Superstar Award for his investment in developing a nationwide network of electric vehicle rapid-charging stations. The Sustainable Superstar award is presented to a person who has gone above and beyond to bring about sustainability change in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“It’s a great honour to be recognised at the Sustainable Business Awards. Many of us are making personal sacrifices for the greater good. As a personal passion, I’m just glad to have helped drive the growth of electric vehicles in New Zealand” – Steve West, CEO & Co-founder of ChargeNet.
The judges said, “The winner of this award has laid the foundation for the rapid growth of EVs in New Zealand. He has led the way with his own investment, setting up a national network of EV charging sites ahead of demand. Without his risk-taking and vision, there would be a fraction of the EVs we now see in New Zealand. This network and the ongoing investment he is making can now support a massive growth in the EV fleet over the coming years.”
As CEO and Co-founder of ChargeNet, the largest rapid-charging network in New Zealand and one of the earliest adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, Steve has passionately advocated for EVs in New Zealand and around the world in a tangible, measurable, and passionate manner for more than eight years.
When ChargeNet was started by Steve and Dee West in early 2015, there were only 500 EVs registered in New Zealand, and no EV rapid-charging network on the horizon. So, Steve and Dee put their money where their mouth was by rolling out a nationwide network of rapid-chargers. Five years later there are over two hundred rapid-chargers around the country on the ChargeNet network and 23,000 EVs registered in New Zealand.
His rationale for investing in building this network of chargers across New Zealand, was that a user-friendly network, with strategically located chargers would help to reduce range anxiety and increase EV adoption. ChargeNet has made it possible to travel the length and breadth of New Zealand in an EV with ever-increasing ease. The massive investment in New Zealand’s EV charging infrastructure gives New Zealanders more confidence to invest in their own EVs – speeding up our transition towards a Zero Carbon economy.
In New Zealand, there has been an exponential growth of uptake of EVs since 2015. While many people have contributed to this success, arguably, this rapid growth would not have been possible without the ChargeNet EV rapid-charging network. Because of this, Steve’s vision of a future where clean EVs will replace fossil-fuelled personal transportation in New Zealand is becoming a reality faster than most would have imagined.