August 09, 2022
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Multistate partnership seeks to enable Lake Michigan EV circuit

By Shaw Local News Network
FILE - A Electrify America Charging Station for electric vehicle is seen at Woodfield Village Green in Schaumburg, Ill., Friday, April 1, 2022. German engineering company Siemens is making an investment in Electrify America, a Volkswagen division that includes a network of electric vehicle charging stations in North America. Electrify America said Tuesday, June 28, 2022, that Siemens is its first outside investor and will have a board seat. Siemens will contribute a low triple-digit million dollar amount, with media reports pegging it at more than $100 million. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File

FILE - A Electrify America Charging Station for electric vehicle is seen at Woodfield Village Green in Schaumburg, Ill., Friday, April 1, 2022. German engineering company Siemens is making an investment in Electrify America, a Volkswagen division that includes a network of electric vehicle charging stations in North America. Electrify America said Tuesday, June 28, 2022, that Siemens is its first outside investor and will have a board seat. Siemens will contribute a low triple-digit million dollar amount, with media reports pegging it at more than $100 million. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

Illinois and three other Midwest states are collaborating to build a road trip route specifically for electric vehicles. The Lake Michigan EV Circuit Tour will consist of a network of EV chargers spanning over 1,100 miles of drivable shoreline around pristine Lake Michigan. The multistate partnership needed to build out and maintain the EV chargers, as well as market the new eco-tourism attraction was solidified by a “Memorandum of Understanding” signed by key officials from each state.

The Lake Michigan EV Circuit Tour will be a scenic route with reliable light-duty vehicle charging options along the Lake Michigan coastline that targets charger installations at key coastal communities, lighthouses and tourism attractions such as state parks, hospitality locations, breweries, vineyards, restaurants and other small businesses. Those new chargers will be tied together with existing charging infrastructure networks at large entertainment attractions in population centers along the route such as Chicago, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Traverse City.

The circuit tour will make it easy coordinate access to some of the region’s greatest tourism attractions by the next generation of clean and electrified transportation. The route is also intended to provide EV drivers with a long-distance travel vacation opportunity and enable long-distance road trips without fear of range limitations or tailpipe emissions.

Many of the network’s chargers are already operable today. Drivers can expect the remainder of the circuit to be completed within the next few years.

Illinois