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SK Signet revealed it signed a deal with Francis Energy for an order of more than 1,000 EV chargers. The latter is currently the fourth-largest fast charger operator in the United States and it has agreed to a 5-year contract for the supply, with half of the total volume being eligible for government subsidies.
Business Korea reported that SK signet, the electric vehicle charger manufacturing arm of South Korea’s SK Group, started to negotiate with Francis Energy in 2022 and this month, the talks turned out fruitful with the signing of the long-term supply contract. It was agreed that the former will supply a minimum of 1,000 fast chargers and deliveries will continue until 2027.
This deal is said to be the first project to receive the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) subsidy. Over half of the contract’s volume is covered by the program which provides funding to states to deploy EV charging stations and set up an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.
In the case of SK Signet’s contract, it is eligible for the NEVI program so it will get subsidies from the Biden administration. The NEVI was put up with the aim of building 500,000 charging stations across the country by the year 2030.
The EV chargers that SK Signet will supply to Francis Energy have a capacity of more than 400 kilowatts. Aju Business Daily mentioned that the U.S. government’s total budget for the NEVI program is $5 billion.
"For drivers to continue embracing EVs as a more environmentally friendly form of transportation, EV charging needs to be readily accessible and efficient," SK Signet’s chief executive officer, Jung Ho Shin, said in a press release. "Our partnership with Francis Energy and deployment of ultra-fast chargers will help make the option of driving an EV a reality for more Americans."
Francis Energy’s chairman and CEO, David Jankowsky, added, "SK Signet's ability to adjust rapidly to an evolving market - including its ability to easily and quickly integrate any adopted standard, including the North American Charging Standard (NACS) into its hardware solution - is a testament to its skill as a world-class organization. We are excited to bring ultra-fast SK Signet stations to EV drivers in America."
Photo by: SK Signet Press Release
