Media Release – Sydney, 13 November 2025
As electric vehicle (EV) adoption accelerates across Australia, women-led climate tech startup ivygo and national advocacy group Parents for Climate have announced a new partnership to make the shift to electric transport fairer, cleaner and more connected, one neighbourhood at a time.
The partnership empowers Australian families and communities to take climate action into their own hands by turning private EV chargers into shared community assets. Through the ivygo app, drivers can find, book and pay to charge their vehicles easily, while homeowners and businesses can earn extra income by listing their chargers for others to use.
Hosts can also choose to donate their earnings to Parents for Climate to help fund local climate education and advocacy.
At its heart, the initiative is about connection: between neighbours, between clean energy and transport, and between everyday actions and meaningful climate impact. By expanding community-based charging, the partnership makes electric driving accessible to more households, helps families cut fuel costs during the cost-of-living crisis and creates a new way to support parent-led climate action.
Why now: Australia’s EV moment
Australia’s electric vehicle transition is gathering momentum. According to the Electric Vehicle Council’s State of EVs 2025 report, 72,758 electric vehicles were sold in the first half of this year, bringing EVs to 12.1 per cent of all new vehicle sales. The national fleet now exceeds 370,000 vehicles and is projected to reach one million by 2027 and 3.8 million by 2030.
This rapid growth brings both opportunity and challenge. While adoption is accelerating, infrastructure has not kept pace, and without local, affordable charging options many Australians risk being left behind.
A fair and equitable transition
Charging access is one of the biggest barriers to EV ownership. Around 35 per cent of Australians live in apartments, rental homes or properties without off street parking, rising to over 60 per cent in high density areas. These households cannot easily install a home charger and are excluded from the most affordable and convenient way to charge.
This inequity creates a two-speed transition that rewards homeowners with garages and solar panels, while renters and city dwellers face higher costs and limited options. A fair transition means ensuring that every household, regardless of where or how they live, can participate in and benefit from cleaner, cheaper transport.
Cost of living and business opportunity
The financial benefits of EV ownership are clear. Switching from petrol to electric can save households thousands of dollars each year in running and maintenance costs.
For ivygo Co-Founder Julie Perrissel, the difference has been transformative. Since switching to an EV three years ago, she has saved almost $10,000 a year in fuel and maintenance. She launched ivygo to ensure every family in Australia can share in those same financial and environmental benefits — regardless of whether they have a garage or driveway of their own.
EV charging also presents a major opportunity for small businesses and hospitality venues. Cafés, hotels and clubs that offer charging can attract customers who stay longer and spend more. Through ivygo, businesses can list chargers for free, set their own rates and start earning immediately, creating an additional revenue stream at a time when many are seeking new ways to boost productivity and reduce costs.
The ivygo system also opens a new revenue channel for charitable or community minded businesses, which can share part of their earnings with their chosen causes. By engaging their customers and fan bases, these organisations can turn every charging session into both income and impact.
Supporting sustainability and the grid
Australia’s clean energy transition depends on smarter charging habits. Research by David Washbrook, author of Evnex’s 2025 Emerging EV Charging Trends report, shows that most residential EV charging now occurs between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the hours when solar energy is abundant and grid emissions are lowest. With average rooftop solar systems doubling in size over the past four years, households are generating more clean energy than they consume, creating ideal conditions to share that energy locally.
The same study found that fewer than one in ten EVs charge at the same time, showing that Australia has ample grid capacity for community-based charging without expensive infrastructure upgrades. By distributing charging across homes, businesses and neighbourhoods, ivygo helps balance energy demand, keeping charging affordable while supporting a resilient renewable grid.
A new way to fund climate action
Through this partnership, ivygo enables hosts to donate their charging earnings directly to Parents for Climate, creating a simple and transparent way for individuals and businesses to fund climate advocacy, education and local action groups.
Every time an EV driver charges through the ivygo app, a portion of ivygo’s revenue supports Parents for Climate’s work, and hosts can add their own contributions if they choose.
This model turns everyday activity into climate action and gives families, small businesses and community organisations a new way to raise funds for meaningful causes while supporting Australia’s electric transition.
Through this partnership, ivygo makes it easy for families, businesses and community groups to turn everyday charging into climate action for our kids.
Hosts can donate their EV charging earnings directly to Parents for Climate, helping fund advocacy, education and local action to protect our kid’s health and future.
Every time an EV driver charges through the ivygo app, a portion of ivygo’s revenue supports Parent For Climate’s work and hosts can add their own contribution if they choose.
Together, we’re creating a cleaner, safer world for the next generation, one charge at a time.
Quotes
Julie Perrissel, Co-Founder of ivygo
“The energy transition has to be fair. Access to charging should not depend on how and where you live. With ivygo, families can share what they already have, their driveway and their solar energy, and turn it into something that benefits the whole community. Partnering with Parents for Climate helps us turn those everyday actions into collective impact.”
Nic Seton, Chief Executive Officer of Parents for Climate
“This partnership shows what happens when communities come together. Families have enormous power to drive change, and now that power can literally power cars. It connects neighbours, keeps solar energy local and channels funds into protecting our children’s future. It is a simple idea with extraordinary potential.”
A call to action
With EV uptake outpacing public infrastructure growth, ivygo and Parents for Climate are calling on families, councils and local businesses to help build the future together.
“If we want an equitable, renewable transport system, we cannot wait for big infrastructure to catch up,” says Perrissel. “We already have the chargers, the rooftops and the community spirit. All we need now is connection.”
About ivygo
ivygo is a women-led climate tech startup co-founded by Julie Perrissel and Sumit Gole. It is Australia’s peer-to-peer EV-charging network connecting drivers to home and business chargers in their community. Hosts can list their charger, set their own price and availability, and earn passive income by sharing excess solar energy. Drivers can find, book and pay securely through the ivygo app. Built around convenience, community and sustainability, ivygo’s mission is to make EV charging simple, fair and accessible for everyone.
Learn more: ivygo.com.au
About Parents for Climate
Parents for Climate is an independent, non-profit organisation uniting parents, and carers and grandparents across Australia to secure a safe climate for all children. Through grassroots campaigns, education and advocacy, the organisation empowers families to use their collective voice to influence business, media and policymakers so that our children inherit a safe and healthy future.
Learn more: parentsforclimate.org
Media contacts
For ivygo
Julie Perrissel, Co-Founder
📧 [email protected] 📞 0403 668 893
For Parents for Climate
Nic Seton, Chief Executive Officer
📧 [email protected] 📞 0407 638 973
