EV investments, jobs not slowing down one year after IRA passes
A new report has found that the U.S. electric vehicle and battery manufacturing markets are continuing to thrive since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a year ago.
The report from the Environmental Defense Fund and WSP USA found that the IRA catalyzed investment and job growth in the EV industry. Over the past year, manufacturers have announced more than $164 billion in EV and EV battery manufacturing investment, as well as creating more than 179,000 new direct U.S. EV-related jobs. The investments are expected to create another 800,000 jobs in the broader economy.
“The American electric vehicle manufacturing renaissance is booming, driven by historic federal investments,” Peter Zalzal, EDF’s Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies, said. “On its first birthday, the Inflation Reduction Act is spurring huge increases in EV manufacturing investments and tens of thousands of jobs for Americans in communities across the country. We must continue working collaboratively to maximize these vital benefits for everyone.”
The report found that 88% of the announced investment is in 10 states – Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona. Georgia has the greatest level of investment and jobs with $31.5 billion in announced EV investments and 33,600 jobs – more than double the amount of investments since the previous EDF report in March.
The updated report also found that production capacity had grown rapidly over the last six months. U.S. EV manufacturing facilities are on track to make about 4.7 million new passenger vehicles annually by 2026, the report said. Additionally, U.S. facilities will be able to produce enough batteries to supply 12.2 million new passenger vehicles a year by 2027.
