Congress approved the funding to states as part of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in November.

The White House wants to prod Americans to move away from gasoline-powered vehicles even as efforts to win substantial additional funding for EVs in Congress have stalled.

The administration will make $615 million available in 2022 but states must first submit plans and win federal approval.

“We’re not going to dictate to the states how to do this, but we do need to make sure that there are meet basic standards,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a press conference.

Buttigieg told Reuters that the United States faces different EV network challenges in rural and urban areas.

“It’s got to be customized, which is exactly why we have the states coming to us with plans rather than the other way around,” he said.

By 2030, Biden wants 50% of all new vehicles sold to be electric or plug-in hybrid electric models and 500,000 new EV charging stations; he has not endorsed phasing out new gasoline-powered vehicle sales by 2030.

The Biden administration said in guidance Thursday states should first prioritize investments along interstate highways. It also says:

* States should fund DC Fast Chargers; stations should have at least four ports capable of simultaneously charging four EVs.

* States should install EV charging infrastructure every 50 miles along interstate highways and be located within 1 mile of highways.

* Federal funds will cover 80% of EV charging costs, with private or state funds making up the balance.

The White House endorsed legislation stalled in Congress to increase current $7,500 EV tax credits to up to $12,500 for union-made U.S. vehicles, create credits of up to $4,000 for used EVs.

That bill includes a 30% credit for commercial electric vehicles, $3.5 billion for converting U.S. factories for EV production and $9 billion for the U.S. Postal Service and federal government to buy EVs and charging stations.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told Reuters the government wants to “attract more charging companies to start here.”

Asked about some lawmakers’ concerns about high fuel prices, Granholm said “medium term the shift to electric vehicles is to get ourselves away from the volatility of fossil fuels … We won’t be held hostage to solar power.”

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The mile-long stretch of public road, which will be designed to wirelessly charge electric vehicles while they are stationary and in motion, is expected to be complete by 2023, according to a news release from the state. Electreon will work with NextEnergy and Jacobs Engineering Group on the project.

The inductive vehicle charging pilot, first announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year at the Motor Bella show in Pontiac, will be funded through $1.9 million from the Michigan Department of Transportation and an unspecified contribution from Electreon.

Electreon declined to say how much it is investing, but the request for proposal for the project required the contract winner to match at least 25 percent of the $1.9 million, said Michele Mueller, senior project manager, connected and automated vehicles, for MDOT.

The project will also be supported by Ford Motor Co., DTE Energy Co. and the city of Detroit.

“As we aim to lead the future of mobility and electrification by boosting electric vehicle production and lowering consumer costs, a wireless in-road charging system is the next piece to the puzzle for sustainability,” Whitmer said in the release.

The road will be located within Ford’s Michigan Central mobility innovation district, though the exact location has not been determined, MDOT spokesman Michael Frezell said.

The wireless roadway project symbolizes Michigan’s commitment to building EV charging infrastructure and staying ahead of the curve on technology, according to officials. It also fits into MDOT’s plan for a new 40-mile “connected corridor” from Detroit to Ann Arbor.

“Michigan is aggressively rolling out various charging solutions and we need to continue to stay ahead of the technology curve,” MDOT Director Paul Ajegba said in the release. “A wireless in-road charging system will be revolutionary for electric vehicles, potentially extending their charge without having to stop.”

Electreon, founded in 2013, has projects in Tel Aviv; Gotland, Sweden; and Lombardy, Italy. The foundation of its wireless charging technology is electromagnetic induction. The company installs copper coils under the asphalt of roadways, through which it transfers energy from the electricity grid and creates a magnetic field. Receivers installed on the floor of an electric vehicle capture the energy and transmit it to the battery and motor.

“We’re excited to be transferring our success in wireless charging for a variety of electric fleets — from cars to buses and heavy-duty trucks — to this innovative project,” Stefan Tongur, vice president of Electreon, said in the release. “There’s important work ahead with our partners in Detroit to develop scalable, ‘plug-free’ charging that will future-proof the city’s EV infrastructure.”

Electreon will not generate revenue through the project in Detroit, Mueller said. The company said its aim is to prove its concept effective and then scale beyond pilot projects to generate revenue.

“…We offer flexible approaches, depending on the customer/client use case and what’s the best fit, including public-private partnership, relationships and CaaS – Charging as a Service,” according to the company’s business model.

Mueller said the pilot is a learning opportunity for the startup and the state.

“This will allow us the opportunity to set standards and specifications for the system,” she said. “We do have the vision for having electrification here, and that’s why we’re doing the pilot. We’re going to learn a lot.”

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The Detroit automaker is announcing the single largest investment in its history in Lansing alongside Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after the state’s Michigan Strategic Fund Board approved $824.1 million in incentives for the projects Tuesday morning.

General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra announces Tuesday, January 25, 2022 a GM investment of more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites that includes building a new Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Lansing and converting the GM Orion Assembly plant to build full-size electric pickups. The investment will create 4,000 new jobs and retain 1,000. Barra made the announcement from the Senate Hearing Room of the Boji Tower in Lansing, Michigan.
GM, like other automakers, is in the midst of shifting its portfolio of products and plants to build electric vehicles. The automaker is spending more than $30 billion through 2025 to meet its stated goals of 30 EV product offerings globally by 2025 and 1 million EV sales in that same timeframe.

Tuesday’s announcement gives GM three U.S. battery cell manufacturing sites, with a fourth one coming. It also provides more EV production capacity at a plant already building the electric Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV: Orion Assembly, which like Factory Zero at Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center will build the electric Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra, giving GM capacity to build 600,000 electric pickup trucks when both plants are fully running.

“We’ll have over a million units of battery electric vehicle capacity in the United States by 2025, and that 600,000 is a major part of that,” GM President Mark Reuss said on a call with media Tuesday. “As we see the transition happening, we know the adoption rate has really increased over the last year or two. We’ve done that research and we see the acceptance of the newly introduced Silverado as very, very positive, and high as well.”

The incentives for GM’s investment were created by Whitmer in collaboration with the Republican-led state Legislature to spur economic development by companies like GM. Whitmer and lawmakers put $1 billion into the initiative after losing out on an $11.4 billion investment by GM’s crosstown rival Ford Motor Co., which chose to take similar EV projects south to Kentucky and Tennessee.

“We are thrilled and so fortunate that GM’s home is in Michigan and they’re growing in Michigan,” Whitmer said at Tuesday’s announcement. GM and I share the same philosophy: ‘Everybody In.’ That’s our responsibility to make sure that Michiganders know that we’re putting them first and we’re not leaving anyone behind.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, who also attended the event, said: “The economic well-being of our state isn’t a partisan matter. High-quality jobs don’t have a party affiliation. And I’m proud to have on this stage with me some lawmakers who played an important role in making this day happen.”

GM will invest $4 billion at Orion to transition it for electric pickup production with site work slated to start immediately and electric truck production starting there in 2024. The investment should create more than 2,350 new jobs at Orion and retain about 1,000 jobs when the plant is fully operational. The automaker estimates the new jobs at Orion will be filled by a combination of GM transferees and new hires.
The plant will receive a new body and paint shops and new general assembly and battery pack assembly areas. Production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV will continue during the plant’s conversion, GM said. Bolt production is down through February as GM prioritizes new batteries for Bolts recalled for battery fire risk.

The expanded electric truck capacity comes after crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. earlier this month said it was nearly doubling production of its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck in Dearborn for the second time. The increase means Ford will assemble 150,000 vehicles annually after nearly 200,000 people opted to reserve the pickup. The company in September said it was investing an additional $250 million into the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center and two components facilities to increase annual production to 80,000 vehicles.

The F-150 Lightning arrives this spring. GM’s Silverado EV will arrive in 2023.

To power its new electric products, GM is adding more battery cell capacity in a state where it has its largest manufacturing footprint. GM and LG Energy Solution, through their joint venture Ultium Cells LLC, are investing $2.6 billion to build the third U.S. battery plant they have planned. Two others are in northeast Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Battery cells go inside the battery packs that power EVs.

The Michigan investment is expected to create more than 1,700 new Ultium Cells jobs when the plant is fully operational. Work on the project will start this summer and battery cell production is scheduled to begin in late 2024. The plant will supply cells to the products made at Orion Assembly and other plants.

On Tuesday, GM also announced it would invest more than $510 million in its two Lansing-area vehicle assembly plants to upgrade their production capabilities for gas-powered products. Lansing Delta Township Assembly will receive the investment for production of the next-generation Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave and Lansing Grand River Assembly will have plant upgrades.

In a statement, United Auto Workers President Ray Curry and Terry Dittes, UAW vice president and director of the union’s GM Department, hailed the investment, saying it “creates a strong future for UAW members, their families and communities.”

“General Motors is investing in Michigan because of the skills and quality work of our members, and we are all proud of this investment in our industry’s future for decades to come,” the two UAW leaders said.

President Joe Biden, who is seeking incentives of up to $12,500 for union-made, U.S.-produced EVs as part of his Build Back Better Agenda, said GM’s investment in Michigan “is the latest sign that my economic strategy is helping power an historic American manufacturing comeback.”

“From day one, my Administration has been laser focused on making sure that America leads the manufacturing future of electric vehicles,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “This announcement is just the latest in over $100 billion of investment this past year in American auto manufacturing to build electric vehicles and batteries.”

The major GM investments were encouraged by state and local incentive packages GM received. After losing out on an $11.4 billion investment from Ford for EVs, Michigan lawmakers scrambled to put together a $1 billion economic development package to attract new investment. The GM proposal would use two-thirds of the initial money. Lawmakers have to sign off on allocating the money, which they are expected to do soon.

“That partnership is incredibly important, whether it’s energy or incentive to put these jobs in Michigan, and have that growth in the economy,” Reuss said. “The state recognizes how important that is to grow the employment and R&D capability and the manufacturing jobs here.”

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The EV Exchange will utilize community-driven research and analysis combined with deep-dive meetings and think-tank–style programming, as well as virtual and face-to-face briefings, conferences and future trade shows.

The EV Exchange focuses on three key stakeholder communities: electric vehicle manufacturers and suppliers; energy, utilities and other infrastructure entities needed to create a backbone to enable an influx of EVs; and state, local and federal regulatory and policy agencies.

President Biden’s goal of EV sales encompassing 50% of auto sales by 2030 makes such collaboration even more essential.

“It feels amazing to have a chance to bring a program to fruition which will make a difference and whose mission is to create a positive impact on domestic and global climate and environmental green initiatives,” Paul Sitar, CEO of Sitarian Corporation and Creator and Director of the EV Exchange, said. “Sitarian was fortunate enough to have MAD Event Management forging key relationships with the city of Detroit and to have a decades-long friendship with Richard Mroz, an energy and utility expert with vast experience working with the public sector. It felt incredible to bring all these resources to the table to deliver a unique and strategic program to the industry and city of Detroit. There’s no better city on the planet for the EV Exchange to launch and run this premier EV and next-generation mobility program.”

When talking about the White House’s infrastructure bill to combat climate change, President Biden appeared in the city focusing on GM’s push to electric.

“Paul [Sitar] and I had been discussing our mutual career goals of producing precision events for several years, so when he came to us with the idea of EV Exchange, it was a natural fit for both Sitarian and MAD Events,” Martha Donato, Founder and President, MAD Event Management said. “Being on the ground in Detroit, the undisputed automobile capital of the world, with EV Exchange is a career highlight. We’ve already received great support from the City of Detroit and various industry groups.”

An EV Exchange industry advisory board that will lead content and discussion is in development.

“Claude Molinari, CEO of Visit Detroit, and Karen Totaro and Greg DeSandy at Huntington Place (formerly the TCF Center) have been so welcoming to us. I can’t speak more highly of the welcome we’ve received in Detroit. They’ve opened every door for us. Donato said. “Detroit is keen to focus its resources to launch business-to-business and business-to-consumer events. The city’s event infrastructure — including its world-class convention center, supportive CVB, international airport, hotels and special event venues — all allow for an exceptional opportunity,” Donato said.

“We are honored to bring all of these resources to the table to deliver a unique and strategic program for leaders in this emerging business segment, including regulators, government officials, automotive manufacturers, infrastructure service providers and the City of Detroit.” Richard Mroz, EV Exchange Conference Chair, said.

Reach Martha Donato at (845) 545-0653 or [email protected]; Paul Sitar at [email protected]

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