SK signet to supply 1,000 ultra-fast EV chargers to a U.S. operator

SK signet Inc. plant in Texas, U.S. [Courtesy of SK signet]

SK signet Inc., the electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions unit of South Korea’s SK Group, recently secured a significant contract with Francis Energy LLC, a prominent EV charging provider in the U.S..

Under the agreement, SK signet will supply more than 1,000 ultra-fast chargers, its flagship 400-kilowatt model, to the U.S. partner by 2027.

The details were unveiled by the Korean company on Monday. “Each 400-kilowatt charger costs well over 100 million won ($78,802) and the total contract value is reported to exceed 100 billion won,” said an unknown source in the industry. The ultra-fast chargers can fully charge an electric vehicle in about 20 minutes, making them particularly sought-after, especially in high-traffic areas such as highways.

The chargers will be manufactured at SK signet’s Texas plant, with the expectation of benefiting from the U.S. government’s New Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. NEVI aims to build EV charging stations every 50 miles along U.S. highways, with the government providing an annual payment of $1 billion to charging station builders. SK signet anticipates that more than half of the contracted volume will benefit from the NEVI program.

To further penetrate the U.S. market and tap into the NEVI subsidy market, SK signet plans to apply the North American Charging Standard (NACS) to its chargers, commonly known as the “Tesla charger.” The move will allow the company to expand the supply of chargers and enhance its presence in the North American market.

With the Texas plant already in operation since July, SK signet can produce up to 10,000 ultra-fast chargers annually. The recent contract is a substantial boost for the company’s growth aspirations, as it represents orders worth the company’s entire sales from the previous year, which amounted to 162.6 billion won. As a result, SK signet is now on track to accelerate its goal of achieving 1 trillion won in sales by 2025.