Lincoln Electric announced the launch of an initiative to design and manufacture DC fast-charge electric vehicle (EV) chargers for the U.S. EV market. The company has developed a 50kW DC fast charger power module with a scalable architecture to deliver power levels over 300kW, as well as a single-charge port pedestal compatible with CCS-1 vehicles.
A production model is planned for 2023, and leverages core manufacturing and engineering capabilities in the company’s Cleveland, Ohio, facility. The company seeks to leverage new partnerships to commercialize its designs to capitalize on accelerating investments in EV infrastructure.
To advance EV adoption, drivers' “range anxiety” must be addressed with an expanded infrastructure of DC fast chargers to support the traveling public as well as public and private vehicle fleets. Critical to adoption is a reliable fast charger infrastructure that is operable under a broad range of environmental conditions and can charge significantly faster than AC chargers, between 15 and 45 minutes for most passenger vehicles.
Lincoln Electric’s DC fast charger helps address these critical requirements and leverages the company’s extensive track record of manufacturing leading industrial-grade, high-power electronic equipment designed for high duty cycles and 24 hour/seven-day use in mission-critical industrial applications. The company’s equipment is engineered to be highly durable and reliable across a range of harsh outdoor operating conditions – exceeding the reliability performance of many of today’s EV chargers.
In addition, the company’s domestic production of PC boards and equipment power sources surpasses the Infrastructure Investment Act’s domestic content requirements, and the company believes its extensive domestic field service footprint could scale for maintenance and engineering service support.
“We believe Lincoln Electric’s proven power electronics and extensive domestic manufacturing capabilities could bring tremendous value to the DC fast charge EV charger market,” stated Christopher L. Mapes, Lincoln’s chairman and chief executive officer. “This exciting, new initiative reinforces the long-term value we believe we can generate from our innovation, operational capabilities and R&D engineers, as we seek to accelerate growth as part of our higher standard 2025 strategy. We look forward to working with partners to commercialize our EV charger capabilities.”
Potential commercial and development partners interested in Lincoln Electric’s EV charger are encouraged to contact Steve Sumner, vice president global equipment, at [email protected], or 216.394.1362.
