Two Bay of Plenty electric vehicle projects have received government funding and electric vehicles will soon be delivering the mail in Katikati as part of a trial by NZ Post.

Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced $3.87 million of new funding to support 19 projects under the fourth round of the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

Shore Trips and Tours has been granted $134,250 to transport cruise ship passengers from Tauranga to Te Puia in Rotorua and Hobbiton in Matamata using a 25-30 seat electric tour coach.

The company will deploy chargers at its depot and the two tourism destinations to charge the bus, with potential for this infrastructure to be available to other operators. With the tourism sector's current growth, this project is expected to help lead the way for other operators to follow suit.

Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology has been granted $48,972 to connect its Tauranga and Rotorua campuses with two electric seven-seater vans for staff, with charging infrastructure at each campus.

In line with its desire to be a sustainable organisation, Toi Ohomai will share its learnings on total cost modelling for ownership of EVs, looking at a variety of factors including environmental, health, running and maintenance costs, and safety as compared with a conventional fleet.

New Zealand Post has been granted $100,425 to begin electrification of its Rural Post Network, starting with a trial in Katikati.

New Zealand Post and one of its contractors, Grant Bagshaw Limited, will partner to prove the suitability of electric vans for use on a rural post delivery network. Three Nissan e-NV200 vans will operate in the Katikati region for a period of 12 months, providing experience and data for building the EV business case for the 600 vehicles currently in operation in the Rural Post fleet.

Quest Apartment Hotels, of which there is one in Tauranga and another in Mount Maunganui, has received $147,550 to install advanced multi-charger systems across 29 of its long and short-term stay apartment complexes throughout New Zealand.

They will be fitted with 40 7kW AC chargers based on an advanced multi-charger platform and billing system. Quest wants to demonstrate the viability of smart metering for application to EV charging at multi-tenanted sites.

Megan says part of the focus on this round of funding is to demonstrate light and heavy electric vehicles in sectors of the economy where the technology is relatively unproven.

"This is about demonstrating the rapidly evolving technology that is making electric vehicles a practical option for a growing number of businesses.”

The round also continues to build New Zealand's EV public charging network with 22 more public fast chargers to be installed between Christchurch and Blenheim, the Southern Scenic tourist route, and the Kapiti and Horowhenua coasts.

"This new funding demonstrates the government's commitment to increasing the number of low emissions vehicles as part of our programme to move towards a net zero carbon economy by 2050. This is an ambitious goal and with funding for projects like these we are putting our money where our mouth is,” says Megan.

Round five of the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund will open on Wednesday, August 15.

For more information about the fund visit: www.eeca.govt.nz/funding-and-support/low-emission-vehicles-contestable-fund/