Kempower to open its first US facility this year
Kempower, Finland’s foremost manufacturer of EV charging equipment, is ready to set up shop in the USA. The plant in Durham County, North Carolina, shall start producing DC chargers for electric vehicles before the year’s end.
Kempower initially plans to invest $41 million and can expect government subsidies totalling around three million dollars over twelve years. For the 12-year term of the grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $726.25 million.
As with other non-American companies, Kempower’s move to locally produce EV chargers for the US market is connected to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It not only requires EVs and related equipment to be partially manufactured in North America but also provides states with funding via the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program. In the case of North Carolina, the federal government granted $109 million to the southeastern state to create a network of fast-charging stations. The NC. DOT’s NEVI plan would ensure that there are at least four DC-Fast Chargers at least every 50 miles on major highways, informs the statement.
Governor Roy Cooper welcomes Kempower stating EV charging stations were “a key component of our transportation infrastructure, and we welcome these high-wage clean energy jobs that Kempower brings to our state.” Kempower expects to create 300 jobs on-site. The average salary for the new positions will grow to $88,440 in the project’s third year. In the first phase, Kempower says it will scale up the local assembly to produce NEVI-compliant Kempower Power Units and Kempower Satellites. Staff recruitment is already underway.
“We think North Carolina is a perfect location for us and fulfils our high ESG requirements. I would like to thank the State of North Carolina for the fantastic support during the thorough evaluation process,” said Kempower’s CEO Tomi Ristimäki. He added he was confident their chargers would serve the longer distances in the US well.
Kempower in 2022 saw orders coming in from northern and eastern Europe, for example, serving e-buses in Denmark or providing fast charging stations in Estonia for the petrol station network from Terminal Group. Further contracts came from Noway, Sweden, Romania and Australia.
In the Summer of 2022, the company launched a liquid-cooled fast-charging system with 400 kW continuous power for heavy-duty vehicles.
The new North Carolina facility will become Kempower’s second presence, in addition to the 14,000 m2 facility in Finland.
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