We’ve heard of backpackers’ stories of their hardships, heartbreaks and epic encounters. This one is different. This is a story of one modified VW wagon with zero carbon emission and one young man with a head full of dreams.
Wiebe Wakker started his journey in the Netherlands, aiming to reach Sydney, Australia by driving – without putting a drop of petrol in his car. Spanning 33 countries and 1,117 days, he completed this incredible feat on 7 Apr 2019 in his modified and fully electric VW Golf, offering a new perspective for people with “EV range anxiety”.
Along the way, Wiebe had engaged with entities aiming to achieve a sustainable future. His journey, in a way, is to prove that this sustainable future is attainable now. It’s a reminder that owning an electric vehicle no longer means you are confined to an area within 80km radius of your garage.
This is a classic “all about the journey, not the destination” story. But the event marking the end of Wiebe’s journey was an absolute highlight. EV enthusiasts, Wiebe’s loyal followers and all sorts of media were out in numbers. Amongst them is one of Wiebe’s latest sponsor, Southern Sustainable Electric (SSE).
As a member of SSE, I’m extremely proud to have attended the Wiebe’s finish line event in Sydney and be a part of Wiebe’s epic adventure, as well as sharing the vision of a sustainable future. Before venturing into the EV charger market, SSE has been in Australia’s solar energy industry for nearly a decade, accumulating more than 20MW of commercial rooftop solar experience and two utility-scale solar farms. But this is not enough. We’ve devoted our dedication towards generating power from a clean energy source. Now is the time to put this energy to use. SSE is bringing EV chargers to Australia in 2019 in partnership with XCharge, electrifying the cars and moods of people in a country that is unfortunately lagging behind the world in terms of EV sales and related infrastructure. We will put our EPC experience in the renewable energy industry to good use and roll out fast DC chargers in places where people need them the most.
Australia has a long road ahead before reaching the European or Chinese level of EV market share. SSE will be with Australia along this journey.
