SK E&S acquires EverCharge, sets foot in US EV charging market

Korean LNG player SK E&S is entering the U.S. electric vehicle charging market, an official announcement said. On March 23, SK E&S announced the acquisition of EverCharge, an EV charging solution provider in the U.S. This is reportedly the first time a Korean company has acquired the management rights of an EV charging company based in the U.S.

Founded in 2013 in California, EverCharge is a charging solutions provider that manufactures EV chargers and operates charging stations. Currently, the company claims to have installed and is operating 4,600 EV chargers across North America including the U.S. and Canada.

On March 8, SK E&S made an official announcement that it will finance SK E&S Americas with $400 million to invest in energy solutions businesses in the U.S., which will be used to acquire EverCharge and make additional investments in the energy solution sector.

EverCharge offers expertise in scalable installation and deployment of EV charging in parking facilities, including workplaces, multi-family communities and commercial fleet segments.

EverCharge claims to be the industry’s first electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to receive the California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) certification required by the state for an EV charger. EverCharge’s chargers are connected by a mesh network that allows greater coverage than conventional Wi-Fi and works even in the harshest underground environments, allowing for reliable operations of chargers in parking garages and other locations, says the company.

“The EV charging solution including manufacturing, installation, service and aftersales service of chargers enables significant optimization for our customer base which is growing rapidly and ultimately, contributes to rapid deployment of EV fleets,” said Jason Appelbaum, CEO of EverCharge.

As of 2020, the total number of vehicles on the road in the U.S. was approximately 240 million and of which, EVs accounted for less than 1% (1.74 million). The U.S. EV market is projected to grow remarkably by more than 15 times in a decade to 26 million by 2030. In addition, the EV charging infrastructure market is expected to grow fast at an annual rate of 27% on average from 2 million chargers in 2020 to 20 million in 2030.

SK E&S said this acquisition will help it to respond effectively to the rapid growth of the EV charging market in the U.S. and it aims at growing into a “global top-tier energy solution provider” by connecting the business to its existing business.