New Alliance established to help State of Georgia become leader in EV and mobility sector

Governor Brian. P. Kemp of the State of Georgia last week announced the establishment of the Electric
Mobility and Innovation Alliance (EMIA). https://www.georgia.org/mobility

A statewide initiative, driven by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), EMIA was created to position Georgia as a leader in industry acceleration. The Alliance includes partners from the private and
public sectors ranging from government, industry, electric utilities, education, nonprofits and other stakeholders focused on advancing Georgia’s role in developing the electric mobility industry and its supply chain. In conjunction with the initiative, GDEcD has also launched a new website http://www.georgia.org/mobility showcasing the state’s EV and mobility assets.

Building on existing assets, the Electric Mobility and Innovation Alliance will offer policy recommendations intended to further enhance the state’s attractiveness to the electric mobility industry and foster innovation in related fields, including drones, autonomous vehicles, connected vehicles, battery technology, and more. The five EMIA committees will develop a multi-step approach that sets objectives for Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Workforce, Innovation, and Policy/Initiatives.

According to a report by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, automakers are planning to invest $250 billion in electrification by 2023, and IHS Markit predicts there will be 130 EV models available in the U.S. by 2026. As the center of the southeast automotive corridor with close proximity to the region’s automotive original equipment manufacturers, Georgia is positioned to capitalize on these trends to support the entire EV supply chain.

EMIA represents the latest effort by the State of Georgia to ensure that it becomes the preferred location for the global electric mobility industry and that the State is able to deliver all key elements needed by the industry to grow and succeed, whether it be workforce, business policies, infrastructure and supply chain.

In addition to the nearly $2.6 billion SK Innovation electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facilities in Jackson County, in recent months, Georgia has continued to attract numerous other international investments, including Dutch e-mobility charging systems leader Heliox, Turkish EV-parts manufacturer TEKLAS, German-owned lightweight automotive-body parts manufacturer GEDIA and SK-supplier EnChem of Korea. In 2018, Georgia Made school bus manufacturer Blue Bird introduced their all-electric buses, and the company recently reported its 500th delivery or sale of electric buses.  Plug Power  is establishing a manufacturing of fuel cell systems for e-mobility in Camden County, GA.