Buttigieg, Whitmer pitch EV corridor with Canada
The United States and Canada plan to launch what’s being described as a binational electric vehicle corridor stretching from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Quebec City.
The 872-mile corridor, which envisions DC fast chargers every 50 miles along the route, was unveiled Tuesday in Detroit along the riverfront during a joint news conference with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Mayor Mike Duggan and Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Tying the corridor to current investments in electric vehicles pushed by the Biden administration, officials said the plan would boost domestic manufacturing, strengthen supply chains and provide good-paying jobs while supporting U.S. and Canadian climate and alternative energy transportation goals. Those include having 50% of new U.S. vehicle sales be electric by 2030 and achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 for Canada, according to a news release.
It's not clear how many chargers would be rolled out as part of the corridor or in what time frame. Funding, at least in Michigan, is tied to $110 million being received through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program and the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.
Buttigieg said the corridor represents an achievement that will shape commerce and travel in North America and elsewhere for years to come, and he noted the significance of its location.
"I think it's fitting that this first U.S.-Canada EV corridor runs through both Detroit and Windsor, two of the world's great auto manufacturing centers," Buttigieg said, noting that the goal is to have EV drivers travel far and wide without having to wonder where to find a place to charge.
Earlier in the day, Buttigieg helped open the transportation portion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference being held in Detroit, highlighting similar themes related to supply chain resilience but other issues as well, such as the project to turn Interstate 375 in Detroit into a boulevard. Officials have linked the project with national efforts to repair the damage done to largely minority and immigrant communities during the building of the interstates decades ago.
More: Biden proposal will change auto industry, push consumers toward electric vehicles
More: Michigan advisory group, automakers want to boost EV, public transit efforts
More: Whitmer wants EV charging circuit around Lake Michigan
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Buttigieg, Whitmer tout EV corridor connecting Detroit, Quebec
