EV charger maker Tritium wins order from Hawaii under federal funding program

ACN 650 026 314

11/07/2023 13:00

By Abhirup Roy
       SAN FRANCISCO, July 11 (Reuters) - Tritium DCFC  DCFC.O 
said on Tuesday it had won an order from Hawaii to make
high-speed electric vehicle chargers - the first funds to roll
out in a federal program meant to blanket the country with
charging infrastructure and boost EV adoption.
    The U.S. government plans to dole out $5 billion to states
over five years as part of the National Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure Program (NEVI) to electrify highways and
interstates with 500,000 chargers.
    Hawaii, which was granted access to $2.6 million in
September as part of the first round of funding, is buying 32
150-kilowatt Tritium chargers and 16 power units, the company
said.  
    "These fast chargers are expected to be among the first
funded and installed under the NEVI program," Brisbane,
Australia-based Tritium said in a statement.
    While several states, including Ohio and Texas, are in
various stages of seeking proposals from companies, Tritium said
Hawaii was using an existing contract with Sustainability
Partners, an infrastructure-focused public benefit company to
place the order. 
    Hawaii is estimated to receive a total of over $17.6 million
under NEVI.       
    The federal funding - seen critical to President Joe Biden's
plans to tackle climate change and create local jobs - requires
companies to offer the U.S. standard Combined Charging System
(CCS) in the chargers. 
    But Hawaii's order comes at a time when several states such
as Texas and Washington have said they plan to mandate EV market
leader Tesla's charging standard along with CCS to be eligible
for the funds after major automakers embraced the technology.
    That has sparked a pushback from some charging companies
against mandating Tesla's the North American Charging Standard
(NACS) for the first round of funding, saying more time was
needed to standardize, test, and certify the safety and
interoperability of Tesla connectors.
    However Tritium, which said it would offer NACS connectors
on its chargers by late 2023 or early 2024, supported the move
in a letter sent to Texas on Monday and seen by Reuters. 

 (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Nivedita
Bhattacharjee)
 ((abhirup.roy@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415 941 8665;
@abhiruproy30;))