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SK E&S Co. Ltd. revealed on Sunday, Jan. 29, that it had installed a charging station for electric vehicles at an airport in the U.S. state of Texas. The company set up the EV chargers under EverCharge Inc. and in partnership with Avis, an American car rental company.
SK E&S acquired EverCharge in March 2022, so it is carrying out its EV charging business through the latter, which is a California-headquartered charging solution provider. To be more specific, the station was installed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Houston airport.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the utility networks services arm of the SK Group opened the EV charging station in cooperation with Avis Budget Group. EverCharge and Avis are said to be planning to put up more chargers in other airports this year.
"The adoption of EVs across the U.S. auto market is encouraging, but this growth requires a transformation of our energy systems," Yu Jeong Joon, vice chairman and head of U.S. corporate and government affairs of the SK Group, said in a statement. "The collaboration between Avis Budget Group and EverCharge is intended to provide the infrastructure needed for a clear pathway to cleaner forms of transportation for rental customers."
Korea Joongang Daily reported that this is the first time that a South Korean firm built a large-scale EV charging infrastructure in the U.S. SK E&S said that more charging stations are coming, and they will be placed in airports where Avis is operating.
The chargers were called the EVO2, and the units were fitted with the SmartPower software that helps save energy. It also allows higher energy density by managing and controlling the power load more effectively. The company said that the software distributes electric power efficiently by automatically evaluating the charging pattern.
In 2020, the United States already had about 1.84 million electric vehicle chargers. The International Council on Clean Transportation said that this number is expected to increase by 27% each year to reach 20 million units by 2030.
Photo by: CHUTTERSNAP/Unsplash
