PROJECT STORY
The challenge
Despite increasing electric vehicle sales across the country, the U.S. lacks the charging infrastructure needed to support widespread EV adoption.
Wallbox
Manufacturing the EV charging infrastructure needed to support the energy transition
The solution
Wallbox partnered with Arcadis to build its first EV charger manufacturing facility in the U.S. to help alleviate the country's charger shortage.
The impact
Wallbox will be able to sustainably supply a significant portion of the charging units needed to support the country's EV charging infrastructure.
250,000
EV chargers produced in 2022
250
High-paying green jobs created
The challenge
Over the past 30 years, the number of deaths attributed to air pollution in the U.S. have declined significantly. Nevertheless, approximately 60,000 people die each year due to illnesses caused by poor air quality, and nearly 137 million Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of pollution. Vehicles with internal combustion engines emit carbon monoxide, which, when inhaled, can damage critical organs like the heart and brain. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as much as 95% of carbon monoxide emissions in cities may come from motor vehicle exhaust.
Widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption will play a huge role in reducing pollution levels in the United States, therefore minimizing the risks to human health. Many drivers are interested and willing to make the switch, but the U.S. currently lacks the charging infrastructure needed to support the transition. The country is expected to require 1.7 million EV charging stations by 2030, though there are just 47,000 available today. Wallbox, a global electric vehicle charging and energy management provider, partnered with Arcadis to build its first US-based charger manufacturing facility in Arlington, Texas to help close this gap.
The solution
To meet the needs of the growing EV market in the U.S., it was critical to complete the design and construction of the facility and begin manufacturing as quickly as possible, with two additional goals in mind: to improve quality of life for the people who work at the plant, and to create the most sustainable facility possible.
Construction for the facility was split into two phases to accommodate the accelerated schedule. For each phase, the team worked closely with procurement experts to identify and plan around equipment and materials with long lead times and with the City of Arlington, Fire Marshal, and other local authorities to obtain needed permits without delay. Throughout construction, the team utilized Open Space to allow team members from other locations to view and navigate the construction site like they would using Google Street View, which allowed for quick decision making and eliminated the need for excess travel to and from the site. As a result, phase one of the project was completed ahead of schedule, allowing Wallbox to begin manufacturing EV charger units sooner than expected.
With the goal of minimizing the facility’s carbon footprint in mind, Wallbox selected an existing warehouse and made updates to the facility, rather than building from scratch. Throughout the build, sustainable alternatives were used wherever possible, including the use of highly recyclable content, energy efficient LED lighting, high-efficiency package HVAC units, dust mitigation and the use of electricity for all space and water heating, enabling the use of clean, renewable energy for manufacturing. Specialized ventilation and filtration controls were also installed to improve the indoor air quality of the facility, ensuring clean and healthy air is provided for everyone working to manage and operate the plant.
The impact
The completed manufacturing facility is now on track to produce 250,000 charging units by the end of its first few months, with the expectation that it will create over 500,000 units each year, as well as 250 green jobs in Arlington, by 2025. Wallbox’s UL chargers are compatible with all electric vehicles, making them widely available for EV drivers across the U.S. While the United States’ climate goals can feel abstract, Wallbox is helping create the charging infrastructure needed to make the electric vehicle transition a reality.
