SK Signet, owned by South Korea’s conglomerate SK Group, said it wants to invest $15 million into building its first plant in the USA. The company will produce 10,000 chargers a year at ramp-up and refers to US funding policies being decisive for coming to Texas.
These are, of course, the Inflation Reduction Act and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program drawn up to subside locally-made EV charging infrastructure.
SK Signet’s production in Texas is scheduled to start in Q2 2023 with an annual capacity of 10,000 chargers. This is to double to 20,000 units at a later stage.
SK Signet owner SK Group said it would eventually invest $50m in the facility to increase output to meet growing recharging demand from EV owners in the region.
The precursor of SK’s Signet offshoot, founded in July 2022, is the South Korean charging infrastructure provider Signet EV, which SK acquired in April 2021, offers chargers for electric cars and buses, focusing on fast and ultra-fast solutions. SK Signet has sold more than 20,000 charging stations worldwide, including around 4,000 in the US.
The US government recently released and increased subsidies, all under the premise of being made (or assembled) in America. Under NEVI, the US government is offering US$5bn worth of incentives to install a network of 500,000 charging stations across the country by 2030, including rapid charging stations at maximum intervals of 50 miles (80km) on the highways.
Apart from SK, other manufacturers have followed suit. Australia’s Tritium has already built an EV charger production plant in the US with endorsement by the White House. Spain’s Wallbox Chargers and Switzerland’s ABB have also announced similar plans. Bob Stojanovic, VP at ABB E-Mobility North America, considers the new site in South Carolina as another example of how the company is driving e-mobility in the US “with high-quality and reliable EV charging solutions”. “The need for investment in the US e-mobility sector has never been greater, as 18 million EVs are expected to be on US roads by 2030. Expanding our US manufacturing operations will allow us to serve our customers better and help advance the adoption of EVs from private vehicles to public transportation and fleets,” he said.
SK Signet has not formally announced the Texas facility but has already established a head office in Tysons, Virginia.
businesskorea.co.kr, just-auto.com
Keyword: SK Signet planning first US plant to produce EV chargers