US president Joe Biden has acknowledged Brisbane-based EV fast charging firm Tritium as a key part of an American manufacturing revival after Tritium said it will build a new factory in Tennessee.
Biden also reportedly mentioned Tesla as the largest EV maker in the US for the first time in his presidency, according to CNBC, while also referring to other US companies expanding EV infrastructure.
Tritium chief executive Jane Hunter was on stage with Biden during his speech this week, which included mention of the US government’s plans to transition its fleet to EVs.
She says the US government’s commitment to EVs has helped boost Tritium’s products there and mentioned backing a framework incentivising Australian companies associated with the EV industry – like SEA Electric.
Biden tweeted that Tritium’s Tennessee factory announcement is part of the “drumbeat of a jobs resurgence unlike anything we’ve seen before”.
Tritium’s new DC fast charger manufacturing facility is expected to include up to six production lines, employ more than 500 people over the next five years and produce more than 10,000 DC fast charger units annually, with potential to produce about 30,000 units a year at peak capacity.
The president also praised Intel for its plans to build a semiconductor chip factory in Ohio, adding these powered many things today such as smartphones, vehicles, refrigerators, the internet and the electric grid.
Biden is reported as saying one reason vehicles such as EVs cost so much is due to the lack of semiconductors which means many are unable to be built fast enough, leading to higher prices because of the fewer numbers available for sale.
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