Driver plugs in his EV at a public charging station. Credit: Rivian.
By Donté Smith
Capital News Service
As electric vehicles become more common, Michigan is expanding its charging infrastructure to ensure accessibility for drivers statewide.
The state’s Department of Transportation, supported by federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program funds, is accelerating construction of EV charging stations in both urban and rural areas.
Currently, there are around 1,660 charging stations across Michigan, 94% of them public.
While urban and suburban counties like Wayne, Macomb and Oakland are well-equipped, many rural areas still lack adequate charging options, MDOT says.
Gladwin, Alger, Baraga and Oscoda counties are among those with only one public charging station each, according to the Michigan Community EV Toolkit.
St. Joseph, Montmorency, Alpena, Montmorency, Osceola, Montcalm, Hillsdale, Cheboygan and Clare are among counties with three or fewer.
MDOT says it plans to address the gap as it builds out a more comprehensive charging network, focusing many of the new stations along freeways such as I-75, I-94 and I-96.
Bradley Wieferich, the state director of transportation, said the federal funds will help the department “connect the dots between charging in urban areas to rural areas along the major highways.”
The department’s rollout of EV stations is underway with seven contracts executed with the first round of funding, with one more project under construction and several others in the design phase, he said.
The department’s communications specialist, Jocelyn Garza, said, “This infrastructure expansion is crucial in making EV ownership more realistic for Michigan residents.”
She said some new stations, like one under construction at a Meijer in Lansing near I-96, aim to offer easily accessible, central charging options that serve both local drivers and travelers passing through.
Wieferich said, “The goal is to have a charging station every 50 miles to help with range anxiety.”
MDOT’s EV ambitions extend beyond charging stations.
For example, the department says the pilot inductive charging roadway in Detroit — a project designed to wirelessly charge EVs as they drive over a roadway — represents a cutting-edge venture into EV infrastructure.
According to Garza, “Piloting an inductive charging roadway in real-world conditions could shape the future of EV infrastructure” and potentially let drivers extend their range and reduce peak demand on the power grid by spreading charging throughout the day.
One key player in Michigan’s infrastructure expansion is EV manufacturer Rivian, which is under contract to create part of the new charging network.
Rivian’s incentives compliance & reporting manager, Nick Harterre, says its charging system called Adventure Network is designed for convenience, targeting locations along major travel corridors and near key amenities like restaurants and shopping centers.
The network includes features like pull-through stalls for vehicles towing trailers, he said
According to Harterre, the Adventure Network’s design focuses on convenience and community impact: “Unlike fueling up at a gas station, the time spent charging gives drivers the opportunity to check out local merchants, restaurants and attractions.”
Jennifer New, a plug-in hybrid vehicle driver who commutes to East Lansing, said she tries “not to use public stations as much as possible because of the cost.”
For New, the decision to buy a plug-in hybrid was based on its reliability and ease of mind but she has recently committed to purchasing an all-electric vehicle.
“Most of our trips are short, and having the gas as backup was helpful, although we almost always use electric,” New said.
“We wanted to wait for larger 6-seater options before buying a fully-electric vehicle, and the market has continued to grow with newer and cheaper options,” she added.
Research from Harvard Business School indicates a major challenge for EV infrastructure in the U.S.: charging stations have an average reliability score of only 78%, meaning that about one in five don’t work at any given time.
In addition, surveys from ChargeLab, the software powering North America’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, found that while 86% of EV drivers now have access to a home charger, 59.6% still use public chargers weekly.
With 107 charging stations already operating as part of the state’s Rivian network, Harterre said the company is committed to maintaining high reliability to foster driver confidence.
“We look forward to continuing to partner with the state to contribute to the build out of a reliable and scalable charging network,” Harterre said