A team of Michigan State University researchers says the state needs to invest nearly a billion dollars in electric vehicle chargers to meet expected future demand for EVs.
Currently, the state has about 3,000 public chargers.
Professor Mehrnaz Ghamami says about 66,000 additional chargers are needed to accommodate commuters, tourists and residents travelling across the state in an expected future where 25% percent of vehicles on the road are EVs.
The report found adding chargers would help drivers manage range anxiety and lead to wider EV acceptance.
At the end of 2023, EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles made up 0.76% of all vehicles in Michigan.
The research was published in a report from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Ghamami says when she first started this research in 2018, most chargers had a maximum output of 50 kilowatts.
"Now we're talking about 350 kilowatt chargers, and even we're talking about electrifying freight delivery with heavy duty vehicles, so technology has advanced significantly."
The Michigan Future Mobility Plan has set a goal of getting 2 million EVs on the road along with installing 100,000 chargers by 2030.
Ghamami said the next step in the research is figuring out the best places for future chargers to be installed.
