Potential winners and losers from the new U.S. EV charging standards
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[February 16, 2023]
(Reuters) - The Biden administration announced new
standards for building out a national electric vehicle charging network
on Wednesday as part of a push to accelerate the adoption of electric
vehicles (EVs).
President Joe Biden previously committed to building a U.S. network of
500,000 EV chargers by 2030, and has now set the standards to disburse
$7.5 billion in federal funds to support that effort. Today, there are
more than 3 million EVs and more than 130,000 public chargers across the
country, according to the White House.
Among the potential winners and losers analysts and industry officials
see as a result of Wednesday's announcement, with some players appearing
on both lists:
WINNERS
EV DRIVERS: Consumers who drive EVs "now have assurance of knowing that
they can charge their cars reliably, conveniently and hopefully with
cost upfront that they can be aware of," said Colleen Quinn, head of the
National EV Charging Initiative, a coalition of automakers, power
providers, EV and charging industry leaders, labor and public interest
groups. Others call that wishful thinking, citing complaints about bad
service within the current charging systems.
U.S. STATES: Quinn said the states now have a "green light" to move
forward with their plans to award $700 million in federal funds to build
up their charging networks.
EV CHARGING COMPANIES: Many, including Volkswagen's Electrify America,
ChargePoint and EVGo, will accelerate the rollout of chargers due to the
federal funding.
SKILLED LABOR: The requirement that trained electricians provide
installation and maintenance of the charging stations will likely lead
to the creation of more higher-paying jobs, said Miles Muller, an
attorney in the clean vehicle program at the Natural Resources Defense
Council, an environmental advocacy group. The standards require that all
chargers work at least 97% of the time.
U.S. STEELMAKERS/SUPPLIERS: The standards immediately require any
manufacturing of the chargers' iron and steel enclosures or housing
occur in the United States. In addition, at least 55% of the cost of all
parts in the chargers must be made in the United States by July 2024.
Welding giant Lincoln Electric for instance has announced a new line of
fast chargers, while Blink Charging Co will expand its charger
manufacturing plant in Maryland and plans to announce another factory
this year.
U.S. EV AUTO SECTOR: The rollout of more charging stations will
encourage EV adoption in the United States. That could potentially boost
sales for automakers like Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co, VW as well
as startups like Rivian and Lucid.
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An electric car charging station is seen
in the parking garage of Union Station in Washington, U.S.,
September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
U.S. ELECTRIC UTILITIES: They get to tap the new federal funds to
build chargers, and accelerated growth for EVs would boost
electricity use.
INTERSTATE HIGHWAY REST STOPS: They could see an influx of
investment as companies establish charging stations along heavily
traveled routes. That could benefit companies like BP and Hertz,
which are expanding charging at their gas stations and rental car
locations, respectively. Rest stop operators like privately held
Pilot Co and TravelCenters of America could also benefit.
TESLA: Under the new charging standards, the White House said EV
market leader Tesla has agreed to open part of its U.S. charging
network to EVs made by rivals. That could help turn Tesla charging
sites into the universal filling station of the EV era, analysts
said.
LOSERS
TESLA: However, the opening of Tesla's network also risks eroding
the company's competitive edge for vehicles made by the company that
currently have exclusive access to the biggest U.S. network of
high-speed superchargers, analysts said.
EV CHARGING COMPANIES: While the charging companies get financial
support in their expansion efforts, only a handful of the dozen who
commented to the Biden administration ahead of Wednesday's
announcement said that they could meet the "Buy American" standards
under the proposed timelines.
OVERSEAS STEELMAKERS/SUPPLIERS: The requirement on domestic
manufacturing will hurt overseas suppliers, although the Biden
administration hopes that forces them to open plants in the United
States as a result, analysts said.
Australia's Tritium on Wednesday announced it will add more than 250
jobs at its Tennessee charger manufacturing plant. Germany's Siemens
recently announced its second U.S. charging manufacturing plant in
Texas, while South Korea's SK Signet will open a manufacturing plant
in Texas, the White House said.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit, and Jarrett Renshaw and David
Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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