Kempower’s new EV charger production facility to be located in Durham, North Carolina, USA
Kempower, the leading Nordic DC charging technology provider headquartered in Finland, has completed the negotiations for the lease of a new EV charger manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Kempower’s new EV charger facilities have more than 14,000 square meters (154,000 square feet) of space for operations. With the facilities in Durham, Kempower will double its operations space worldwide.
Kempower chose Durham as the location for the new EV charging production site in the USA after careful evaluation. The selection was based on factors such as the suitability of the environment for the technology industry, state incentives, sustainability, time zone and availability of skilled labor.
Durham is one of the top growth cities in the US. The Durham-Raleigh area hosts the Research Triangle Park (RTP), one of the largest research parks in the US. The Triangle area is particularly strong in biotech, agtech, fintech and quantum computing. In 2022, Durham was chosen as the second-best place to live for quality of life out of 150 cities in the US. The tech workforce thrives in a region that supports cross-sector collaboration and has a lot of partnership opportunities among universities, tech schools, and the corporate community.
“I think Durham is a perfect location for Kempower. Durham’s population and employment rate have been growing over the past decade, and the Durham-Raleigh area has very high-quality universities, such as Duke University, NC State University and UNC. We want to work closely with local schools and research facilities to attract future talent to the industry.”
Tomi Ristimäki, Kempower’s CEO.
“There is also a thriving tech community in the area. I think that the way in which different cultures and diversity are reflected locally fits perfectly with Kempower’s values: one example of the diversity is that approximately 30% of start-ups in the region are run by women,” Tomi Ristimäki adds.
With the new facility, Kempower will create approximately 300 new jobs in Durham. Kempower’s new facility will produce reliable and user-friendly DC fast chargers for electric cars, electric trucks, electric buses, and electric machines. In the first phase, Kempower scales up the local assembly to produce NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) compliant Kempower Satellite charging systems. Kempower aims to start the assembly of NEVI compliant DC chargers by the end of 2023. Staff recruitment is underway.
“Kempower is committed to make EV charging reliability a top priority. In the US, driving long distances is more common than in Europe, which makes the reliability of chargers an even more pressing issue. By having a tried and tested system in place to ensure the reliability of Kempower chargers, we have the confidence that our chargers are fit to serve the continent’s EV drivers” Tomi Ristimäki concludes.
Media enquiries:
Paula Savonen, Vice President, Communications, Kempower
Tel. +358 400 343 851
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About Kempower:
We design and manufacture reliable and user-friendly DC fast charging solutions for electric vehicles. Our vision is to create the world’s most desired EV charging solutions for everyone, everywhere. Our product development and production are based in Finland, with a majority of our materials and components sourced locally. We focus on all areas of e-mobility, from electric cars, trucks, and buses to machines and marine. Our modular and scalable charging system and world-class software are designed by EV drivers for EV drivers, enabling the best user experience for our customers around the world. Kempower is listed in the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. www.kempower.com