OYSTER BAY, NY – By 2016 nearly three million active vehicle charging stations will be in place worldwide, with annual revenues associated with the purchase and installation of those stations growing to nearly $13 billion that year, a new ABI Research study forecasts.

The push away from fossil fuel vehicles opens a new market for makers of printed circuit boards.

Some countries, such as China, Israel and Denmark, are investing in automated battery switch stations, which trade depleted batteries in electric vehicles for fully charged batteries in minutes. Business models are only now being developed for public charging of electric cars.

SAN JOSE – The 90-day moving average orders at North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers was $1.62 billion in May, up 6.2% from last year.