South Korea’s LG Electronics is teaming up with ChargePoint to install more electric vehicle charging stations in the US, the companies announced today.
As part of the deal, ChargePoint will provide software to operate LG’s EV chargers, and LG will supply ChargePoint with hardware to bolster its network of 306,000 charge ports. The companies say they plan coming together to jointly install “commercial charging solutions,” with the first deliveries expected later this summer.
Other possibilities include ChargePoint tapping into LG’s energy storage installations, as well as connecting LG’s ThinQ smart home system with ChargePoint’s Home Flex residential charger.
LG Electronics, which makes TVs and home appliances, opened its first EV charger factory in Fort Worth, Texas earlier this year. The 100,000 square-foot facility has the capacity to produce up to 12,000 chargers a year. At the time, the company said it would supply EV charging equipment to charging operators. The deal with ChargePoint is one of the first supplier partnerships to be announced.
Both companies anticipate tapping into funding from the Biden administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which is allocating millions of dollars to EV charging operators. Despite being authorized in 2021, only seven stations have opened so far using NEVI funding, prompting questions from Republicans about the program’s effectiveness.