As regular Charged readers know, the US Inflation Reduction Act has spurred a tidal wave of investment in battery plants, as well as mines and processing facilities for critical battery minerals.
EVSE manufacturers have also been joining the party (or “lining up at the trough,” as a fiscal conservative might put it). The DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office reports that manufacturers have announced investments of over $500 million in more than 40 plants to make Buy American-compliant EV chargers and related equipment. (This figure refers to investments announced since 2021, so some of the projects may predate the IRA, and of course some are dependent on financing, funding, site approvals, etc.)
Companies will be manufacturing Level 2 AC chargers, DC fast chargers, and wireless charging hardware at the new plants. The DOE estimates that these investments will create more than 3,000 new jobs.
A map provided by the DOE reveals that the new plants are located all over the country, many of them in red states—five in Texas, five in North Carolina, and one each in South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama. Siemens, SK Signet and Wallbox are among the EVSE manufacturers that have already set up shop in Texas. (California is also getting its share, with at least eight new plants operating or planned.)
Source: DOE
