Market Electrification | Industry & Labeling Update

An update from Tracy Tenpenny, VP of Sales & Marketing

Combustible engine manufacturers have done everything in their power to prevent the evolution of the Electric Vehicles.  They have used and continue to use their lobbying power to try and prevent EV manufacturers from selling direct to customers in an effort to protect their franchise dealerships, who count on large service revenue. The behemoth oil industry giants waged a state-by-state war against utilities’ plans to build charging stations across the country.  Unions are fighting to keep their presence in an industry that recognizes building these vehicles in the south is much easier, because the word “unionize” is pretty much a swear word.  Utilities fighting homeowners from using solar to supply their own energy by charging exorbitant rates for a lower use of consumption.  Despite these powerful groups and their efforts, it’s clear a new market is exploding with opportunities and it’s disrupting the status quo.

  • How many electric vehicle manufacturers are there and how many different EVs are available?  Currently, while these numbers seem to increase day by day, there are over twenty different electric car manufacturers and over fifty different electric vehicles available.  After entering commercial markets in the first half of the decade, electric car sales have soared. Only about 17,000 electric cars were on the world’s roads in 2010. By 2019, that number had swelled to 7.2 million, 47% of which were in The People’s Republic of China (“China”). Nine countries had more than 100,000 electric cars on the road. At least 20 countries reached market shares above one percent.
  • How many EV chargers are in the US?  The Department of Energy states there are now over 22,000 stations across the U.S. with more than 68,800 connectors between them. About a third of them, 22,620 in all, can be found in California, which is the nation’s largest market for electric vehicles. The infrastructure for electric-vehicle charging continues to expand. In 2019, there were about 7.3 million chargers worldwide, of which about 6.5 million were private, light-duty vehicle slow chargers in homes, multi-dwelling buildings and workplaces.
  • How real is solar panel installation? In 2019, the U.S. became home to more than two million solar panel installations. In fact, the country surpassed the two million milestone just three years after eclipsing one million solar panel installations, which took 40 years to accomplish.  The Q1 2020 recorded the highest solar PV installations in history, driven by nearly 2 GW of utility-scale solar, supplemented by 1.6 GW of residential, commercial, and industrial solar PV installations.

What does market electrification mean from a labeling perspective? 

All three segments listed above come with varying degrees of engineering challenges in labeling. Electrification applications typically carry with them harsh environments requiring outdoor fade resistance, regulatory compliance including UL registration and marking and a variety of warning and safety labels, branding labels and product tracking labels. Each of these requiring engineering design capacity that is already a valuable resource in limited supply. Creating a label is typically low on the totem pole of priority and engineering is strapped with pressing issues that are far more important than dealing with a label.

The need for a supplier with experience is vital. A print partner that has existing mechanical and electrical engineering capabilities, a comprehensive in-house testing lab and a history in manufacturing labels for electrified markets (including electric vehicle, solar panel and charging stations) is critical to avoid wasting time in a need it “NOW” product cycle.

Tailored Label Products has the unique capability to shift the burden of label design from your team to ours. We approach each project by combining engineering, design, quality and development into a cross-functional team focused on creating a unique solution for each specific application. But we’re not starting from the ground up each time… With over 35 years in the regulatory and harsh environment labeling market, TLP has the experience needed to develop, design, test and approve your labels efficiently and accurately. Contact us today.

Topics Covered

EV Auto Labels / Solar Labels

Durable Labels & Regulatory Labels
for the Electrified Markets