Biden’s EV Charging Infrastructure Improvements Are Powering the Economy and Speeding Up the Adoption of Clean Energy Technology

President Joe Biden’s economic plans are building an economy that works for all Americans. This CAP Action newsletter focuses on elevating trend stories on how the president’s policies are growing the economy by investing in people and places all over the country.

The lack of access to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is a key barrier to EV adoption in the United States. New bills signed into law by President Biden are laying the groundwork for a massive expansion of commercial and personal EV charging capacity. These policies are boosting the economy and creating jobs, spurring private sector investments, and expediting the adoption of clean energy technologies that will substantially reduce emissions.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law, provides $7.5 billion over the course of five years to build a national EV charging network—with the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program sending $5 billion to all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., to build charging capacity along interstates and highways and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program distributing $2.5 billion to build capacity in communities and local neighborhoods, particularly underserved communities. These infrastructure funds are already reaching states and localities and supporting projects to build a national charging network. Last September, the Federal Highway Administration approved all state NEVI plans, “unlocking approximately $1.5 billion in FY22 and FY23 funding that can be used to implement those plans.” Meanwhile, earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the first $700 million in CFI awards to help build capacity in local communities across the country. Additionally, under the Inflation Reduction Act, “taxpayers are eligible for a credit of 30% of the hardware and installation costs for EV chargers installed at their homes. … It’s a one-time, nonrefundable tax credit for a maximum of $1,000.”

Here is a look at how Americans and communities across the country are already benefiting from Biden’s efforts to boost EV charging technology manufacturing, research, and development.

North Carolina

• Thomas Insights reports a “manufacturer of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations plans to establish a new factory in central North Carolina. … Kempower will spend some $41 million on the project in Durham County, which is expected to create more than 300 jobs. … The project is expected to generate more than $726 million in economic activity over that span.” Assembly Magazine notes: “The jobs will pay average annual salaries of $88,440 by the third year of the project. … Production is expected to begin later this year.”

Michigan

• Earlier this month, state and local leaders in Michigan announced ABB Robotics, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of EV charging technology, would make a new investment in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to boost its manufacturing operations. Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin R. McDaniel underscored the benefits: “This project will create 72 advanced manufacturing jobs, which will provide additional customer service support with expanded production of advanced robotics as well as EV charging equipment.”
• Last month, a White House fact sheet noted “FLO, a North American EV charging network operator and smart charging solutions provider, announced a $3 million investment in its first U.S. assembly facility located in Auburn Hills, Michigan earlier this month. By 2028, the facility will help FLO bring 250,000 charging stations to American drivers, create, and support upwards of 730 jobs, and bolster Michigan’s economy by $76 million.”

Texas

• In November, SK Signet announced it “will produce a range of fast-charging solutions, including providing the first U.S.-manufactured ultra-fast chargers and power cabinets that offer more than 350kW of power. The [Plano, Texas,] facility, covering 136,200 square feet, is expected to be operating at full capacity by July 2023, producing more than 10,000 fast chargers per year. SK Signet plans to create up to 183 jobs at the site by 2026. … In addition to manufacturing EV chargers, SK Signet’s Texas facility will house cutting-edge research & development, manufacture power modules and conduct charger testing with automakers. The company plans to work closely with state and local officials to recruit and train workers.”
• Siemens eMobility announced “it will locate its second U.S. manufacturing hub for EV charging operations in Carrollton, Texas. The company is continuing its investment for manufacturing in America by retrofitting the 80,000 square-foot Carrollton plant, which will allow the company to ramp up quickly to meet significant EV market and customer demand. With this new site, Siemens is … creating 100 new jobs at the facility and across the regional supply chain and expects the plant to be fully operational by mid-2023. The facility will serve as the manufacturing site for Siemens’ new VersiCharge Blue, a Buy American-compliant Level 2 AC charger specifically designed for the U.S. market and compatible for all use cases, including workspaces, hospitals, airports, campuses, parking garages and lots.”
• InsideEVs reports: Last October, “electric vehicle charging equipment supplier, Wallbox, officially opened its first North American manufacturing facility in Arlington, Texas. The state-of-the-art 130,000 sq.ft. factory will manufacture the company’s full line of charging equipment in the U.S. The $70 million investment by Wallbox is expected to produce 250,000 units and bring more than 250 jobs to the Arlington area by 2025. By 2030, the company expects the facility to be manufacturing more than one million chargers and employ approximately 700 workers.”

Alabama

• WTVM reports: “ADS-TEC Energy will invest $8 million in a sales, warehousing, service and assembly facility in the Auburn area [its first North American plant]. … Along with the creation of the new facility, approximately 180 jobs will be created. ‘We’re excited to welcome yet another high-tech German company to Alabama,’ Governor Kay Ivey said. … The company chose Auburn because of its proximity to Auburn University’s acclaimed engineering program. ADS-TEC said it will allow the company to identify and nurture talented students and graduates. … ADS-TEC expects the new facility to be fully operational by 2024.”
• Last November, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $4 million award to the University of Alabama to support a research partnership between the school and private sector utility and EV manufacturing companies to “develop and demonstrate an economically viable end-of-life advanced lithium-ion battery (LIB) system to enable second uses for batteries in stationary electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.” In addition to boosting EV charging capacity, the project aims to “[reduce] power grid demands, [provide] environmental benefits, and [serve] as a backup power source for EV charging when grid power is not available.”

Ohio

• According to The EV Report: “EdgeEnergy, a leading provider of power conversion equipment for electric vehicle (EV) fast charging solutions, has announced a $150 million investment in Ohio … to expand manufacturing and grow their company. … EdgeEnergy is working with community and industry partners like Blink Charging to develop a job training program, available online and in-person at their Cincinnati facility, focused on technical training for the maintenance of charging stations.” A White House fact sheet notes the expansion will bring “60 new manufacturing and engineering jobs over the next 24 months.”

South Carolina

• Last September, ABB E-mobility announced “the continued expansion of its global and US manufacturing footprint with new manufacturing operations in Columbia, South Carolina. The multi-million dollar investment will increase production of electric vehicle chargers, including Buy America Act compliant ones, and create over 100 jobs. The new facility will be capable of producing up to 10,000 chargers per year, ranging from 20kW to 180kW in power, which are ideally suited for public charging, school buses, and fleets. … In addition to the South Carolina facility, ABB E-mobility announced in July 2022 the launch of a training center in Sugar Land, Texas and an R&D facility in Southern California.”

Tennessee

• The Tennessean reports: “Tritium, a global company that makes DC fast chargers for electric vehicles, has announced plans to add 250 jobs this year at its Lebanon facility on top of the 500 jobs previously announced at the plant. Tritium opened last year in the former Toshiba space at Baird Industrial Park on Toshiba Drive. The company has said the Lebanon facility will eventually produce up to 30,000 fast-charging units per year.” Tritium is partnering with “ChargerHelp!, the only national operations and maintenance service provider dedicated to EV supply equipment … to host the first All-Woman EV Charging Technician Course.” The Environmental and Energy Study Institute notes, “A 2021 diversity report by the National Association of State Energy Officials found that women represent 47 percent of the national workforce, but only 25 percent of the energy workforce”—making these targeted outreach and education programs crucial to ensure EV charging manufacturers such as Tritium are able to fulfill their staffing needs and retain talent with equitable and inclusive workplaces.
• Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $4.5 million award to Tennessee Technological University (TTU) to support efforts to boost access to mobile charging stations (MCSs) in charging deserts, which will help address an acute barrier in rural communities. The award will support a partnership between TTU and three other universities; EV equipment manufacturers; battery recycling companies and parts suppliers; and others to “develop affordable MCSs… utilizing second-life batteries retired from EVs.”

In the news

• Houston Chronicle: “At an old medical device plant in northwest Houston, Jim Wood is doing something that would have seemed a surefire money loser just a few years ago. Instead of making all its solar panels for the U.S. market at plants in Indonesia or Thailand, his company SEG Solar has plans to hire 500 workers to start turning out solar panels from the factory by early next year. … [T]he United States has long been left behind in a clean energy manufacturing boom. … But seven months after President Joe Biden signed the energy-focused Inflation Reduction Act into law, a wave of clean energy manufacturing projects have been announced across Texas and the rest of the nation.”
• The Hill: “The American electrical grid could achieve up to 90 percent of its electricity without carbon emissions by 2030, according to an analysis published Wednesday by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The combination of the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law could increase the share of clean electricity from 41 percent in 2022 to between 71 percent and 90 percent by 2030, the report found.”
• Bossier Press-Tribune: “Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards unveiled a new website to help Louisianans learn about the projects and opportunities in their communities from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The ‘Building the Bayou State’ website features a dashboard with an interactive map to provide details on awarded BIL projects across the state.”
• Bloomberg: “Hanwha Solutions Corp. plans to spend $147 million on a plant in Georgia that supplies material for [solar] panels, drawing cheers from President Joe Biden who credits his climate law for jumpstarting efforts to build a solar supply chain in the US.”
• USA Today: “‘After decades of trying to take on Big Pharma, we’ve finally, finally won,’ Biden said during remarks at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, where he spoke next to a group of people wearing scrubs and white coats. ‘Now, instead of paying whatever the drug company wants to charge you, Medicare will be able to negotiate prices.’”

Social media spotlight

For decades, too many communities have been left out or left behind.

My economic plan is changing that with over 12 million new jobs, thousands of workforce training projects, and $300 billion in new manufacturing investments from businesses. pic.twitter.com/hdkKxWlEvc

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 25, 2023

The investments generated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will create jobs and transform Louisiana by improving roads and bridges, expanding access to broadband, strengthening our coastal infrastructure, updating water systems, and advancing our Climate Action Plan. #lagov pic.twitter.com/DTt5rgTGe5

— Gov. John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) March 24, 2023

“The Biden-Harris Administration is running a full-court press over the next three weeks as part of an “Investing in America” tour seeking to highlight investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, job creation and lowering costs for American families.” https://t.co/zqEPHN1bFA

— Herbie Ziskend (@HerbieZiskend46) March 24, 2023

Insulin costs $10 a vial to make.

Drug companies charge people hundreds for it.

President Biden capped this cost at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare, and he’s calling on Congress to cap this cost for every American. pic.twitter.com/IuonTtJalh

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 26, 2023