Michigan EV Charging Station Debuts

September 6, 2010 by Matt Keegan

EV Models

Before the year is out, several all-new electric vehicles are slated to make their debuts. Ford will be rolling out its electrified Ford Transit Connect, GM will formally introduce its much-hyped Chevrolet Volt with the Nissan LEAF joining them.

Electrified versions of other models will also appear in the coming months including the Smart ForTwo and a compact car from Coda Automotive. Within the next year, most major auto manufacturers will have introduced an electrified car, perhaps signaling a full scale automotive revolution.

Though EVs are certainly game-changers, they won’t mean much unless there are charging stations strategically placed around the country. EV owners will have a station in their garages, but away from home they’ll be vulnerable to running out of juice if there aren’t places for them to get recharged.

Charging Stations

Coulomb Technologies is working with Ford, GM and SmartUSA to provide charging points across south Michigan, one of the first markets in the United States slated to get EVs. Last week, Coulomb introduced the first public charging station, this one located at NextEnergy’s headquarters in Detroit.

That charging station is the first of what Coulomb has said will be 5,000 charging stations in nine markets across the United States. In addition to serving southern Michigan, Coulomb has found local partners to build charging networks in Los Angeles, Austin, New York, the Bay Area, Sacramento, Orlando, Bellevue/Redmond in Washington and Washington D.C.

The company says that its charging network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and includes billing capabilities for station owners who want to charge drivers to recharge, an iPhone App to help people find these stations, authentication to make sure that energy isn’t stolen–think about it: you could recharge anything besides an EV at these stations, and safety features to ensure that users aren’t, um, electrocuted.

EV Infancy

Though 5,000 charging stations is a lot, it is a mere drop in the bucket for what is really needed. Every vehicle, save for the Chevy Volt, will offer a limited range which means that traveling 90 to 100 miles is the extent of your range before you must recharge. With the Volt, you can always stop at a gas station to fill up, extending your range by hundreds of miles.

Expect a lot of hype as the first vehicles roll out this fall. I’m not saying the EVs aren’t important, but for now the internal combustion engine rules.