
European tech drives boost to US EV charging infrastructure
European power technology is at the heart of $700m investment into the rollout of chargers for electric vehicles across the US.
The programme aims to boost local manufacturing capacity to more than 250,000 chargers a year to support the transition to electric vehicles by 2030.
Volkswagen’s US charging subsidiary, Electrify America, is investing $450m into its charging network with technology from Siemens. This will see the rapid deployment of up to 10,000 ultra-fast chargers at 1,800 charging stations, more than the number of high-power chargers available in the United States today.
Siemens is on track to build one million EV chargers over the next four years by investing more than $250 million in the U.S. in the past six months, including expansions of plants in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Pomona California. It is also taking a $450m minority stake in Electrify America, valuing the network at $2.45bn, and is the first external investor.
“With our additional investment in Electrify America, we are giving e-mobility in North America a further boost and consistently grow our charging and energy business. The plan is to more than double Electrify America’s charging infrastructure to 1,800 locations and 10,000 fast chargers by 2026. Siemens’ investment confirms our electrification strategy of making charging and energy solutions available nationwide to customers of all EVs,” said Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components
“Representing one of Siemens’ largest investments in electrified transportation, this strategic partnership with Electrify America aims to grow a collaborative ecosystem that propels EV adoption across the United States and Canada,” said Veronika Bienert, CEO of Siemens Financial Services.
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Siemens also has a new manufacturing facility coming online later this year and is introducing an AC charger this fall, and last week signed a technology deal with WiTricity to develop wireless charging systems.
Swiss power giant ABB E-mobility is also opening a product development and research facility in California to design, develop, and test EV chargers for the U.S. market. To assist in the roll out of the technology, it is opening a new training centre in Sugarland, Texas. This will provide authorized service partners with hands on training for servicing and maintaining EV chargers.
US network ChargePoint is also expanding its partnership with Canadian contract manufacturer SMTC to expand DC fast charger production and establish a manufacturing line for Level 2 19kW AC chargers at its plant in Milpitas, California. The expanded facility will be able to produce 10,000 chargers dispensers and 10,000 Level 2 chargers by 2026.
FLO, a Canadian EV charging network operator, is spending $3m on its first US assembly facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan. By 2028, this will produce upwards of 30,000 charging stations and fast chargers a year.
Australian charger designer Tritium is accelerating its production schedule to manufacture DC fast chargers and plans to produce its first units in the US in early 2023. A newly announced plant in Tennessee will be capable of producing up to 30,000 fast charger units per year.
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