ADS-TEC Energy to open U.S. EV charging manufacturing facility in Auburn, Alabama

ADS-TEC Energy, a Nurtingen, Germany-based EV charging infrastructure company, will open its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Auburn, Alabama, creating 180 sales, warehousing and assembly jobs for the city.

The company expects its new site to be fully functional by 2024, expanding its manufacturing operations out of Germany into the U.S. ADS-TEC plans to invest $8 million for the construction of its new site, which will facilitate the expansion of its proprietary battery-buffered EV charging infrastructure into the U.S.

“We’re excited to welcome yet another high-tech German company to Alabama,” said Governor Kay Ivey. “The partnership between German engineering and Alabama manufacturing has brought many innovative products to the North American market.”

Auburn’s business corridor has attracted numerous aerospace, industrial and manufacturing companies over the years. Following Airbus and NASA, automotive manufacturers Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota also operate facilities in the city.

ADS-TEC Energy is a manufacturer of the 300 kW ChargePost ultra-fast charging post, which charges two EVs using 150 kW outpost units in up to 10 minutes. The commercial charging station unit delivers more than 201 kWh of battery back-up power from a lithium-ion battery cell, providing an easy EV charging solution to cities or towns with limited grid voltage frequencies.

The ChargeBox power dispenser delivers 320 kW of battery power to the company’s ChargePost EV charging posts.

ADS-TEC Energy’s charging technology was nominated for the German Future Prize in 2022 by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany and elevated to the “circle of excellence.”

ADS-TEC Energy is a unit of ADS-TEC Group, a family-operated company that dates back to 1980 and is partly owned by Bosch Thermotechnik.

The EV charging company went public in December 2021 after a SPAC merger with European Sustainable Growth Acquisition Corporation with $156 million in equity proceeds.  The company currently trades at $3.33 per share with a $163 million market capitalization, down 66.4% from $9.81 per share a year ago when it began trading on the Nasdaq exchange.

Alabama Booster

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, businesses that install EV chargers and station equipment at their property are eligible to receive a 30% tax credit. The maximum amount of the tax credit increases from $30,000 to $100,000 for charging projects starting in January 2023.

The IRA provides an additional $5 billion in new investments alone to the sourcing of U.S.-made EV production and charging station infrastructure.

Once a historic hub for the automotive parts market, Alabama saw signs of life in August with Mercedes-Benz announcing a $7 billion commitment to invest in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Full-scale production of the automaker’s all-electric EQS SUV model is slated to begin in late 2022 in Tuscaloosa, while Mercedes first invested in Bibb County, Alabama in 2017 to assemble EV components.

“We are receiving an increasing number of phone calls from people asking about the IRA being a tool to explore commercial opportunities in the state,” said Daniel Tait, executive director of Energy Alabama, a clean energy advocacy group.