In addition to range anxiety, lack of charging infrastructure and the prospect of queuing to access a public DC fast charger – which are often offline or slower than advertised – Australian electric vehicle (EV) owners now have to contend with another problem.
Electric vehicle charging cables are increasingly being cut and stolen across the country by opportunistic thieves who resell the metal they contain as the cost of living falls and the price of copper rises.
According to the AFRThe price of copper in Australia has risen by about 24 percent so far this year, following a rise of up to 29 percent in 2024.
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Copper recyclers currently pay between $9 and $10 per kilogram for “dirty” copper and $10 to $13 for “clean” copper, enticing many unscrupulous individuals to make money by stealing cables from public electric vehicle chargers.
The theft of public electric vehicle charging cables has long been on the rise in the US, UK and Europe, and this week two such cases occurred in two different Australian states.
According to a post on the website, at least four Chargefox fast chargers had their cables stolen from the Cranbourne Shopping Center, east of Melbourne, this week Electric Vehicles for Australia Facebook page..
And ABC Radio Adelaide Yesterday it was reported that six Tesla Superchargers were destroyed for the same reason at a shopping center in Norwood in the South Australian capital, causing “no charge and inconvenience” to electric vehicle drivers.
The problem appears to be getting worse in Victoria, where thefts from motor vehicles and motor vehicle thefts have increased by almost 40 and 50 per cent respectively in the last 12 months.
Better lighting, the installation of CCTV cameras and alarms, and the use of aluminum cables for public electric vehicle chargers have all been used to curb the problem, but infrastructure providers are developing other solutions.
Finnish fast-charging company Kempower has developed a protective cover called Cable Guard that covers existing cables and acts as a deterrent by making them difficult to cut.
Another innovative solution has been developed by Catstrap, which has a range of cable protectors and also offers an exploding dye additive called DyeDefender, which sprays thieves with blue dye as they cut open, making them easier to identify.
These may already be used by some Tesla superchargers, which carry a warning label saying “Pressure, Do Not Cut,” while Tesla itself has moved to labeling its copper “Property of Tesla” to deter copper recyclers.
In July 2024, Automotive News reported that 129 charging cables were stolen from Electrify America charging stations in the US in the first five months of last year, more than in the entire 2023 calendar year (125).
Electrify America has one of the largest charging networks in the US and says replacing cut cables costs $2,000 to $4,000 (approximately A$3,000 to $6,000).
Washington state has become a hotspot for copper theft from charging cables. There, 89 cables were cut from Electrify America locations between January 1 and July 11, 2024.
While the theft of electric vehicle charging cables is also common in southern US states such as Texas and Tennessee, the practice has not yet been widespread in Australia.
“We see very little vandalism and copper theft is almost non-existent,” John Sullivan, the CEO of Chargefox – one of the largest electric vehicle charging networks in Australia – said in mid-2024.
Studies have shown that Australians already have reservations about purchasing electric vehicles due to the lack of reliable infrastructure. A study published in early 2024 by the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) concluded that this was drivers’ second biggest concern about electric vehicles.
But despite the rise in copper thefts and crime in general, experts question the wisdom of taking the time to destroy electric vehicle chargers, stripping the copper from the wires and then finding a buyer – without getting caught by police and with modest profits.
“It’s a complete Sisyphean effort to get money out of coated, small wires,” said Travis Allan, chief legal and public affairs officer for Flo EV Charging Automotive Newsin 2024.
“A standard Level 2 charging station with a 25-foot cable contains approximately 5 pounds of copper.
“The copper is heavily insulated, so you don’t actually end up with raw copper.”
