The charging stations that power electric vehicles are among the most important links in Illinois' EV infrastructure.
Production on next-generation charging stations is now underway in Libertyville, where Netherlands-based EVBox is establishing its U.S. headquarters.
“We have a huge site where you can really scale and...be successful,” said EVBox CEO Remco Samuels. “We want to be one of the leaders in this market, and we need scale, so we are very happy to be here."
Samuels made those comments on Friday as he displayed the company’s newest DC fast charging tower at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new factory and headquarters.
An experimental and test assembly line is the first of what EVBox plans to be a series of production lines at the Libertyville plant, which will likely build thousands of charging stations every year.
"We are working on remote diagnostics because the reliability, the uptime, the success rate of the charging session, that is key for us,” Samuels said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who two years ago signed the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Act to attract clean energy jobs to Illinois, said the EV industry will be crucial to the state’s economy.
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“We have got the parts suppliers, battery manufacturers, EV infrastructure suppliers and there are more to come,” he said.
The plant is also a major feat for the area.
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"We are seeing manufacturing grow in Lake County,” said Rep. Brad Schneider, who represents Illinois' 10th Congressional District, which includes the site.
Also helping drive EV companies to Illinois are manufacturers that are already present.
Lion Electric builds EV school buses and other trucks at its plant in Joliet. California-based Rivian builds a line of SUV’s, pickup trucks and commercial delivery vehicles for Amazon at its 3.3 million-square-foot facility in downstate Normal.
“We are seeing a transition in the economy, and Illinois wants to be in front of that parade,” Sen. Dick Durbin said.
Illinois has set a goal of achieving 100% clean energy by 2050. Part of that plan is to put one million EVs on the road by 2030.
