EUCLID, Ohio — At its Cleveland facility Wednesday morning, Lincoln Electric officially launched its Velion DC fast charger, alongside local and state leaders.
“This is an important milestone for Lincoln Electric and a huge step forward in facilitating America’s transition to electric vehicles,” said the company’s chairman, president, and CEO Chris Mapes.
Mapes said this launch builds on Lincoln Electric’s and Greater Cleveland’s legacy in engineering and manufacturing innovation.
“Today’s ribbon cutting shows that Cleveland and Ohio are going to fuel America’s next economic revolution,” said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, adding that the state will be at the forefront of the green energy industry.
“We’re leveraging our proven skills and extensive American manufacturing capabilities to significantly advance the critical infrastructure that’s needed to grow the U.S. EV market,” said Steve Sumner, VP of Corporate Innovation with Lincoln Electric.
According to Steve Hedlund, COO of Lincoln Electric, in terms of building, these chargers aren’t so different from other products the company makes.
“We had an opportunity to take a look at the inside of a fast charger, and we realized it was very similar to products we were already making,” Hedlund said. “I think there was something like 95% part commonality between our EV charger and some of the products that we already make.”
However, according to the company, their chargers will be more durable than what’s already on the market, withstanding temperatures of -31° F to 122° F, with 95% charging efficiency.
Additionally, according to Lincoln Electric, the chargers exceed the government’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program requirements, and are entirely designed and made in the U.S.
“The product that’s available on the market today is very unreliable, it overheats easily, and it’s not meant for rugged, outdoor environments that we serve everyday in our welding business,” said Hedlund.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted echoed those challenges, and said broken and malfunctioning EV chargers are “holding back EV transition.”
“You pull up, half of them are broke, out of service,” he said. “Lincoln Electric - this is what they’ve done for 100-plus years. They’ve made durable electric products. A lot of it’s been around welding and other things like that, but the same technology can easily be transitioned into these charging stations.”
Lt. Gov. Husted also recognized some of the anxiety that some may have regarding electric vehicles, considering he said Ohio is a “leading manufacturer of fossil fuel powered internal combustion engines.”
“As that transition’s going on, we need to make sure that we’re prepared for what the EV future holds, which means how can we help more Ohio companies make the things that will be part of that transition so that we don’t lose jobs or the economic benefit of this transition from more fossil fuel cars to EVs.”
Husted said there could be a need for 25,000 new workers in this sector over the course of the next five years in Ohio. He said workforce development for the field is important.
“I really believe that Lincoln Electric is going to build the heart and soul of charging stations around the world, and that’s going to benefit Northeast Ohio,” Lt. Gov. Husted said.
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