Virginia Transformer hosted U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine last week for a ribbon cutting on the construction of two new production lines at the company’s Troutville facility which will support the buildout of America’s Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
Virginia Transformer Corp., the Roanoke-based manufacturer of power transformers, has recently entered the EV charging market with the launch of its Integrated Power Module E2V.
As part of the visit, Granholm, Kaine and Virginia Transformer CEO/CTO Prabhat K. Jain held a round table discussion on clean energy, the U.S. electric grid, and EV charging infrastructure.
“As the largest U.S.-owned power transformer manufacturer in North America, Virginia Transformer has a 50-year history of designing and building innovative solutions for flexible deployment that support the clean and renewable energy markets,” said Jain. “Our employees take great pride in our work rebuilding the U.S. electric grid and ensuring reliable electric supply across the country. By 2030, it is estimated 48 million electric vehicles will be in use in the U.S., supported by 30 million charging stations. With the industry’s shortest lead time and EV’s rapid deployment, the EV market is a natural fit for us to extend our technology leadership,” said Jain.
“We are honored to have hosted Secretary Granholm and Senator Kaine, and recognize the important part Virginia Transformer plays in our country’s energy infrastructure,” he added.
Virginia Transformer, with the help of Secretary Granholm and Senator Kaine, broke ground on the construction of two new productions lines in Troutville which will make its (E2V) Integrated Power Module. Troutville will serve as a hub for this production. The company anticipates beginning initial production this fall with plans to add approximately 30 jobs across all functions in Troutville.
More than a transformer, E2V is an integrated power solution that is a self-contained, plug-and-play power module. The uniqueness of E2V is the flexible configuration that enables users to build a scalable, integrated power module where they can be up and running faster than other options. E2V enables station operators to install the chargers to the E2V module, which is connected to the power grid, allowing rapid deployment and reduced installation time.
Virginia Transformer’s E2V solution was designed and developed at its world headquarters in Roanoke. A team of engineers, product development leaders, and quality control experts from Roanoke helped scope and implement the first protype and begin the launch.
“Our team in Roanoke saw the opportunity and how our technologies can meet the market’s needs, quickly developed a concept, and then moved to building our first protype which we’re showing to customers in the market to a very warm reception,” said Jain. “It is exciting to see how the team seized an opportunity and are helping to address a real need in the country as the necessary infrastructure is built.
“EV infrastructure’s biggest challenges are procurement, logistics, coordination, and field integration. Virginia Transformer’s E2V solution addresses these issues by housing and connecting the main components (switchgear, transformer, breaker) into an integrated unit allowing us to quickly deliver a plug-and-play, easy-to-install, power solution supporting EV infrastructure’s rapid deployment across the U.S. We are excited by both the opportunity this presents our employees and the community, but also helping to contribute to the reduction in transportation emissions for the good of our planet,” said Jain.
To learn more about Virginia Transformer’s E2V solution, visit www.vantransformer.com/ev-charging.com.
About VTC: Virginia Transformer Corp. is the largest US-owned power transformer manufacturer in North America and provides custom-engineered power transformers for bitcoin, data center, utilities, renewables, and specialty markets. Products range in power from 500kVA to 500MVA cores, up to 1,400MVA shell. To learn more, visit www.vatransformer.com.
