Australian electric vehicle fast charging supplier Tritium says it has received its biggest single customer order to date – from oil and petrol retailing giant bp – as it announces another big leap in revenue and production.
The Brisbane-based Tritium is backed by Australian coal baron Trevor St Baker, who tipped another $30 million into the company in December, and says the bp order will help it double revenue in 2023 to around $US200 million and lift production to 11,000 units for the year.
The exact size of the deal with bp was not released, but will involve both 50kW and 150kW fast charging stations. The Brisbane operations of Tritium will build the Australian part of the order for the newly launched bp Pulse charging network, while its new plant in Tennessee will supply the US and European components.
In a series of statements and presentations released to the market overnight, Tritium says it plans to add 3 new production lines to the its existing lines at its Tennessee factory.
The production ramp-up in 2023 is expected to produce a total projected output of at least 11,000 units for the calendar year 2023, with Tennessee eventually reaching capacity of 30,000 a year, and Brisbane 5,000 a year.
In 2023 the company expects at least $200 million in revenue, an increase of over 100% over unaudited preliminary calendar year 2022 revenue, while its gross margins are expected to improve to an average of between 10% and 12% over the full calendar year.
The deal with bp Pulse is the second with that company. Another for the delivery of nearly 1,000 units was announced in April, 2022, and followed another supply deal with Shell for its global EV charging network.
Tritium envisions a world in which fast EV charging is everywhere,” said Tritium CEO Jane Hunter in the statement.
“We’re grateful to the bp team for their order and look forward to working together to support bp pulse as they build a reliable, accessible fast charging network around the world.”
Tritium claims a 75 per cent share in the Australian fast-charger market, and is also ranked number 1 in the US and number 3 in Europe, although many EV customers have expressed frustration at the numerous outages of its units across the network.
See our story from last March: Why are so many EV charging stations out of order? Are they reliable?
Charging networks such as NRMA, Evie and Chargefox, have been holding talks with Tritium about the problems, which have variously been blamed on labour and supply shortages, particularly for spare parts.
In its statement, Tritium says it is well-positioned to meet its 2023 forecasts despite macro-economic factors affecting the global economy, given its customer base includes well-capitalized Fortune 100 companies, fully-funded growth companies, and companies that are already accessing committed government funding.
It cited its ability to truck chargers across the US, rather than transport them by sea or air, and pricing improvements driven by supply limitations, NEVI funding, and high inflation.
“The Company ordered long-lead time parts throughout the 2022 calendar year for planned 2023 manufacturing to mitigate the globally disrupted electronics supply chain,” it said.
“Tritium remains focused on maintaining and growing our enviable global fast charger market share through designing, selling, building, and servicing world-class chargers,” Hunter added.
“2022 was a foundational year, putting many of the building blocks in place to deliver our long-term competitive strategy, while still achieving record revenue and sales.”
Keyword: Tritium lands biggest order yet for electric vehicle fast chargers from global oil giant