What came first – the chicken or the egg? A job requiring experience, or experience required for a job? Does belief shape reality, or reality shape belief?
As we stand, the Australasian bus and coach industry is at its very own chicken or egg juncture. To make a safe and effective transition to sustainable technology, should the zero-emissions vehicle technology come first, or the infrastructure required to charge or refuel it?
While the industry is well aware of some of the latest vehicle technology being introduced to Australia, companies like Kempower, Charge Hub and Addelec form the ‘egg’ component of the industry’s great debate.
Since 2017, Kempower has been a fast-growing DC charger producer for electric vehicles coming out of Finland. It’s yet to hit the 10-year mark as a business, but it has already been named this year as the eighth fastest growing company in Europe according to the Financial Times. Its Kempower Station Charger was also listed number one in Monta’s 2025 rankings of high-performing and reliable DC EV chargers.
Just three years ago, this Nordic power spread to Australia, with the global force forging local partnerships to become a leading option for bus and coach electrification.
“Kempower has been in Australia since 2022 and continues to grow steadily,” Dylan Perera, Kempower’s business development manager APAC, told ABC.
“We have a team of staff locally that look after service, sales and marketing. Our aim is to understand the use case of our customers first and then match them to our products.”
While Kempower’s chargers cover a range of sectors, Perera says the bus industry has quickly become its most important focus in Australia and New Zealand. Through a “firm” array of orders and projects won in the region, Kempower now views the bus and coach industry as the leading option to begin widespread charging infrastructure installation.
Making the trek down under and immediately succeeding is no easy feat – many an international company has expanded to Australia and struggled to adapt their technology to the unique local conditions that form our transport industry. Kempower is an exception to the rule. Its success comes down to a tailored and considered approach to providing charging solutions that is immediately making a mark on the bus market.
“For us, it’s not just about supplying the hardware – we’re keen on helping partners when it comes to service, spare parts and ongoing commercial arrangements,” Perera says.
“We also have looked at securing partners such as Charge Hub and Addelec to increase our support to bus industry customers.”
It’s this latter point that has proved critical to Kempower’s local emergence. Through this duo, Kempower has started securing key bus depot electrification contracts across Australia. The genesis of this boom lies out west.
“We have to give credit to the Western Australian government, who has followed up their policies with real action,” Perera says.
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“Their approach of owning the asset means they do the tender process themselves – their eye for detail around an efficient design is refreshing and it’s allowed Kempower’s products to uniquely match their requirements.”
Since landing in Australia, WA has proven to be fertile grounds for Kempower’s charging technology. In 2023, it was appointed alongside JET Charge to provide the charging infrastructure for the Elizabeth Quay Bus Station revamp in Perth.
In late 2024, Kempower and its official sales and service partner Charge Hub supplied the DC fast charging system for WA’s largest electric bus depot in Malaga — a 110-bus project that required installation without disrupting operations.
Charge Hub provided the Kempower technology to Addelec, who was responsible for the electrical infrastructure delivery. Addelec is the head contractor for design and construction who has carried out the works on-site.
Earlier this year, the team of Addelec and Charge Hub were successful in tendering for the contract to power the Bayswater electric bus depot in Perth and provide electric charging capacity for 132 buses, with operations due to start mid-next year. On both projects, Kempower partnered with Charge Hub as the local distributor, with Addelec fronting the bids to supply the hardware at both sites.
At Bayswater, Swan Group won the contract as the head contractor for the design and construction of a brand new depot which is the first new bus depot for WA’s Public Transport Authority (PTA) that will be 100 per cent electric buses. Swan Group brought in Addelec as the principal electrical charging infrastructure partner responsible for engineering and installation, with Addelec partnering with Charge Hub to supply the Kempower chargers.
“We initially started working with our partners in 2023, and this local focus has seen us be able to demonstrate the capability of our product for WA’s Public Transport Authority (PTA)” Perera says.
“We’ve tried to help them standardise what they use with us – commonality comes with its benefits. Having wonderful partners like Charge Hub and Addelec alongside us has been crucial to the success of this approach.”
As part of this local partner network, Kempower has engineers attending the Malaga depot to commission the site.
For Charge Hub, being able to combine its local knowledge in electric vehicle charging with a quality international product like Kempower’s chargers has proven to be the catalyst for recent growth.
“Being the sales partner for Kempower in Australia, we’ve found that Kempower’s equipment has hit a sweet spot in the local bus market,” Charge Hub Australia managing director Paul Guy told ABC.
“Having a partnership with them has allowed us to grow our installation expertise, from commissioning and training through to spare part management and continual service.”
Charge Hub has further built this local service presence via a training centre. This has served as a critical site for the depot charging projects that continue to amass in Perth, with Charge Hub then establishing its own hotline to provide 24/7 support at any of these depots. At the same time, Addelec handles the installation and on-going service and maintenance of the chargers at the depots around Perth.
“We see WA as being ahead of other states in the infrastructure movement – PTA has a very clear plan for what they’re trying to do, and it helps us know what they want and how we can help them,” Guy says.
On the east coast, Kempower is helping Charge Hub complete projects in NSW, applying its commonality approach to depots and sites. For Charge Hub, it has also put its expertise towards projects at bus depots in Victoria, wider Sydney, Adelaide and Queensland.
“We work on all the main features of installing and operating bus charging infrastructure, and being able to provide the robust, fit-for-purpose 40kW Kempower movable DC charger as a loan/rent option has been crucial to this,” Guy says.
“Kempower is a good forward-thinking product. We want to keep going from strength to strength and support our existing customers while applying this knowledge to future projects that we do.”
For Addelec, winning the projects and handling the installation involved the entire engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) scope on both sites, including installation, commissioning, integrations with third party management software and ongoing service and maintenance. The Addelec team was on the ground managing every step from digging trenches to mounting the hardware and ongoing training for depot staff.
At Malaga, Addelec came up with a more efficient deployment method using precast concrete blocks as foundations for the Kempower satellites and power cabinets.
Addelec’s Edward Kestel says the collaboration between the three companies has worked well because each party brings specific strengths.
“Early engagement with Charge Hub during the tender stage enabled our team to develop a unique, cost-effective solution that met the project requirements,” he told ABC.
“By working with Kempower, Charge Hub was also able to offer extended warranties as an added value for the customer. With Addelec’s in-house engineers, we provided both the civil and electrical design for these projects. A significant amount of electrical cable was required, and our parent company, IPD Group, owns a cable manufacturer in CMI, which supplied all the DC cabling needed.
“One point we are particularly proud of is the way our team collaborated with depot managers in a live, operational depot to install chargers in a staged approach, minimising disruption to depot operations. At the end of the day, it’s about getting buses out on the roads to serve their customers.”
From Kempower’s side, the future goals align. Perera says Kempower’s modular charger means the brand’s local partnerships are able to leverage existing projects when it comes to landing new depot electrification contracts.
“We get to share our lessons learned in a much easier way due to our charger being common across all depots,” Perera says.
“From each project we do in Australia, we learn more lessons and improve each time. Everyone in our partnership network has an area of expertise and we all benefit from each other – I want to thank our partners.”
Perera has aspirations for Kempower’s Australian network to continue growing. While Kempower may be quickly emerging at a global level, the Finnish company’s Australian focus is fast becoming a winner for the local bus industry in solving the critical conundrum that is the zero-emissions ‘chicken or egg’ debate.
“We are a local company as much as we are a global one. We have the right partners, and we want to continue offering reliable solutions that the bus industry and its customers enjoy,” Perera says.
“We have succeeded so far by listening to our customers and putting them first, so we will continue doing so with our partnership network.”
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