Electrifying growth: Sprouting EV projects spark green revolution in Southeast Asia

In a robust move towards a greener future, new Electric Vehicle (EV) projects are sprouting across Southeast Asia, signalling a collaborative endeavour between multiple corporations and academic institutions. The initiatives are set to deliver significant enhancements to EV infrastructure, comprehensive research, and expanded workforces.

At the forefront is Evolt Technology, a firm specialising in EV charging services. The company has recently joined forces with Malaysia’s leading clean energy provider, Gentari Co, to introduce a new charging station in Bangkok, outfitted with alternating current chargers. This development trails a memorandum of understanding inked earlier this year, providing a clear mandate to augment the number of EV charging stations across Southeast Asia.

Already, Evolt has successfully launched over 200 nationwide locations providing charging and maintenance amenities, catering to motorists in need of both direct and alternative current chargers, said Kanchalerm Earsakul, chief operating officer of Evolt Technology.

The mobile application service brings the added convenience of queuing and payment to the drivers.

Simultaneously, the Prince of Songkhla University (PSU), a state-owned institution, is making its mark with PSU-EV, a research and development hub and human resource growth centre located within its Hat Yai campus—a pioneering venture in southern Thailand.

Nikom Suvonvorn, Dean of PSU’s Engineering Faculty, believes that the active participation of research and development and EV experts will be instrumental in propelling the Thai government’s aspiration of becoming a key EV producer, reported Bangkok Post.

The centre aims to equip students with extensive knowledge of EV technology and transform conventional petrol-driven vehicles into battery-operated vehicles.

In a significant announcement last year, the National EV Policy Committee conveyed its aggressive target of ensuring 50% of locally manufactured vehicles are EVs by 2030, in a bid to establish Thailand as a regional EV powerhouse.

A recent dossier issued by research firm BloombergNEF highlighted the escalating global sales of EVs, with Thailand and Indonesia earmarked as Asean’s primary contributors. By 2026, it is projected that the share of EVs in worldwide new passenger car sales will surge from 14% this year to 30%, noted Allen Tom Abraham, BloombergNEF’s Senior Analyst for Asia-Pacific Transport.