The EV industry is attracting billions of dollars in new investments.
Key details
More than $4.8 billion has gone into the electric vehicle (EV) charging industry this year alone, Bloomberg reports.
BP and Iberdrola announced a plan to implement 11,000 fast chargers in Europe. BlackRock, Daimler Truck, and NextEra Energy announced $650 million in EV charging investments in the U.S. Volkswagena and Siemens allocated an additional $450 million to Electrify America to help build its U.S. charging-station infrastructure.
Estimates from Bloomberg suggest that 73% of EV charger investments globally were ulta-fast charging stations.
Every part of the EV supply chain is benefiting from the increased interest, from installers and software platforms to charging operators and part manufacturers. Shell, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and ABB are a few examples.
With so many companies hoping to partake in the profit, there have been several notable acquisitions. With a $200 million price tag, Blink Charging acquired SemaConnect along with EB Charging for $23.4 million. Recently, Wallbox acquired an installation company, Coil, and a circuit-board manufacturer Ares Electronics.
In addition to increased acquisitions, new companies are appearing on the playing field. Earlier this month, Voltera launched in Turkey. The company plans to provide needed infrastructure, such as charging stations, for EVs.
Why it’s news
In August 2021, The Biden Administration issued an order stating that America must lead the world in clean and efficient cars and trucks. It set a goal that 50% of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold by 2030 be zero-emission vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles. If the trend continues at the rate it is now, the U.S. should beat that goal well before 2030, according to the Bloomberg analysis.
One of the major drawbacks to EVs has been access to charging stations. The administration wants 500,000 public chargers by 2030, but McKinsey & Co. estimates that as many as 1.2 million are needed. As of right now, the U.S. has around 124,000 chargers for public use, most of which take several hours to repower a car, according to government data.
