Tritium, an EV charger manufacturer, is now accepting orders for its first EV charging system for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. The NEVI program is an initiative of the US Department of Transportation that provides funding to states to build a coast-to-coast network of EV chargers. The program has been allotted $1 billion a year for five years beginning in 2022.
The investment is expected to help build EV chargers across more than 75,000 miles of US highway, according to the US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. Tritium’s NEVI-compliant charging system will include four PKM150 150 kW charging stations and two power rectifiers that can deliver power to four EVs at the same time through a modular system.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plans for all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico in September 2022, granting them access to FY22 and FY23 NEVI funding. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Alaska, and Hawaii have already started handing out their first rounds of NEVI funding, and most other states are expected to provide access to funding this year.
Tritium says it expects its first NEVI charging system to achieve the FHWA’s Build America, Buy America Act waiver milestones, which includes two phases. The first phase, which came into effect on March 23, 2023, requires EV charger makers to conduct final assembly and all manufacturing processes for any iron or steel charger enclosures or housing in the US. The second phase requires manufacturers to domestically source at least 55% of the cost of components used in charging equipment by July 2024.
Tritium opened its new EV charger manufacturing facility in Lebanon, Tennessee, in August of last year – its first production footprint in the US. That facility is expected to produce up to 30,000 DC fast chargers per year at peak capacity.
Tritium CEO Jane Hunter said: “As we continue to scale production at our Tennessee facility, Tritium is proud to deliver a product that allows states to put these funds to use and provide US drivers with the EV infrastructure they need.” With more EV chargers on their way across the US, it seems like electric cars will become more accessible to drivers than ever before.
