Brisbane firm charges onto Good Design podium

Brisbane-based electric vehicle (EV) charging specialist Tritium has taken out two categories in the Australia Good Design Awards, with the company and its RTM charger being recognised in the Engineering and Product Design categories for the commercial and industrial sectors.

The Australian Good Design Awards (GDA) are one of the longest-running international design awards, promoting excellence in design and innovation since 1958.

Recognised by the World Design Organisation (WDO) as Australia’s peak international design endorsement and promotion program, the awards represent the diverse spectrum of design with 12 specific design disciplines covering more than 30 categories and sub-categories.

Tritium, a leader in direct current (DC) fast charging, took home prizes in both the Engineering Design and Commercial and Industrial Product Design categories for their RTM electric vehicle DC fast charger.

“The overall design and engineering of this product is very well considered,” the GDA jury said.

“The charging system has multiple benefits – single technician installation, slim-line profile, fast charge (75km range in 10 minutes).

“The RTM EV charger design is a good example of clean, sophisticated and functional design and engineering that will help reduce a key barrier to EV market expansion.”

Charging infrastructure is regarded as being critical to enabling EV adoption, with the Electric Vehicle Council declaring it “vital to supporting existing electric vehicles while encouraging future adoption”.

In August this year the organisation reported that Australia had 3000 public EV Chargers and 470 fast chargers, with the number of DC fast or ultra-fast chargers increasing by 24% compared with the same period in 2020.

The Tritium RTM charger is manufactured alongside other models at the company’s headquarters in Murarrie, Brisbane, from where it distributes its state-of-the-art chargers, including exports to 41 countries.

A statement from Tritium said the modular and upgradeable RTM DC fast charger was capable of rapidly powering more than one EV of any model at a time, giving operators the flexibility of a charger that can scale from 25kW to 50kW and 75kW.

“We are excited to receive these awards as it validates Tritium’s industry-leading product design and Modular Scalable Charging architecture, which was launched in 2020,” Tritium CEO Jane Hunter said.

“To achieve widespread adoption of electric transportation, there needs to be infrastructure in place that not only makes charging a vehicle convenient, but financially beneficial for the site owner.

“With our product design, we give our customers truly scalable technology that grows with their site.”

CEO of Good Design Australia Dr Brandon Gien said the importance of embracing good design principles was more important than ever, as many businesses have had to completely rethink their business strategies to remain competitive.

“Receiving an Australian Good Design Award is testament to embedding design excellence at the heart of a product, service, place or experience,” Dr Gein aid.

With installation in under two hours, single-person field serviceability, DC meter data insights and many customisation options available, a statement from Tritium said the RTM fast charger helped reduce setup, operation, and maintenance costs to increase a customers’ return on investment.

“The RTM also provides a fast charge and improves the refuelling experience with driver-friendly features like intuitive screen flows and charger statistics and Plug and Charge which enables EVs and chargers to communicate, authenticate and transact via the charging cable, eliminating the need for a credit card reader, RFID card or QR Code,” the Tritium said.