Evnex: From Farm Project to the World

Ed Harvey didn’t set out to start a business. The founder of New Zealand’s own EV charger maker Evnex, his journey began with a personal project converting his Honda Accord to electric during his university years as he studied Electrical Engineering. “I’d kind of been interested in electric vehicles since I was probably 10 or 11,” Ed recalls. “I’d wanted to make an electric car since I was really young, and got to do that.” This passion, coupled with a growing awareness of environmental issues, fueled his drive to do something that mattered…

After gaining valuable experience as a hardware engineer at a medical device company in Christchurch, Ed felt the pull to the renewable energy sector. “I wanted to do something that I felt was going to have a positive impact on the world,” he explains. Seeing the impact of droughts on his family’s farm in Marlborough, and hearing his parents talk about “custodianship of the land” and the “triple bottom line,” solidified his desire to contribute to a sustainable future.

The idea for Evnex stemmed from Ed’s experience converting his own car. “The chargers that I’d found then were quite expensive and not technically smart.” Initially, his charging setup was rudimentary, “just 230 volts straight into it,”. Effective, yet not exactly meeting international standards. He continued to upgrade and soon the prototype was compatible with public chargers, highlighting a gap in the market: affordable and intelligent home EV charging solutions.

The initial stages of Evnex were far from easy. Ed resigned from his stable job and moved back to his parents’ farm, setting up a makeshift lab in their lounge. He developed the first prototype, circuit boards, the software, the mobile app entirely on his own, in fact he spent a year focused on pure engineering replete with building a fully working hardware and software ecosystem.
As entrepreneurs often find, scaling the business, and finding customers proved challenging. “I started applying for jobs and almost gave up,” Ed admits. But a near job offer falling through became a turning point. He joined the Vodafone Xone accelerator in Christchurch, which he credits as “fundamental in terms of Evnex being where it is today.” This experience provided crucial exposure to the commercial side of business, including raising capital and customer engagement.

Now Evnex is focused on becoming the leading brand in home EV charging. “We believe that there is this big opportunity to be the number one brand in home charging, and that’s the space that nobody’s really occupying here in New Zealand or Australia.” To cater to a wider market, Evnex has introduced two versions of its residential charger: the Core and the Plus.

The E2 Plus model is the flagship and offers enhanced features, including a longer cable, cellular connectivity, Tesla integration, and a choice of colours. The E2 Core model is a cost-effective option, designed to compete with basic charging solutions. “One of the biggest barriers to getting consumers to get a charger at home is cost,” Ed notes. To manage this, the Core uses Wi-Fi instead of a cellular modem, has a shorter cable, and is available in a single color.

Evnex is also building strategic partnerships with vehicle manufacturers like Volvo, Polestar, and Skoda. “We’re the preferred charging partner in New Zealand for brands like Polestar, Volvo, Subaru, and a number of others.” These partnerships offer customers discounts and even free chargers with vehicle purchases. Despite the current flatness of the local EV market, Ed is optimistic. “We’re pretty confident that there’s going to be a time when the EV market accelerates, and there will be a lot of home chargers being installed.”

Looking ahead, Ed sees a future where electricity retailers play a more active role in smart charging. “There is benefit for them if they can shift EV charging to times when the wholesale price is lower.” While this is not yet happening at scale, Evnex anticipates increased demand for orchestrated smart home charging in the near future.

Being built in New Zealand and serviced from this country the benefits. We talked to users of Evnex chargers and feedback was universally positive, owners raved about the support they had received from the company. So Harvey has literally taken a home hobby conceived in his Parents farmhouse and turned it into an in demand product meeting a real need. That’s a true Kiwi entrepreneur showing genuine innovation right there!