Employers Learn About Workplace Charging for Electric Vehicles

Clean Cities coalitions that are partners on the Midwest EVOLVE project are working with employers throughout the Midwest to help them learn about how to set up electric vehicle charging stations for their employees and encourage employees to consider EVs for their commute to work.

“Our Clean Cities coalitions throughout the Midwest have worked with more than a dozen employers to hold workplace charging workshops, and we have many more planned,” said Lisa Thurstin, coordinator of the Twin Cities Clean Cities Coalition, who oversees Midwest EVOLVE. “We’ve taken electric vehicles directly to worksites and given employees a chance to get behind the wheel of the newest models. We’ve also educated employers about how to install charging stations at their workplaces.

“Workplace charging programs do not have to be costly or complicated,” Thurstin said. “They provide a valuable service to employees who own electric vehicles. They also create an increasingly attractive marketing tool for a business or a building owner to attract and retain employees and/or tenants.”

Midwest EVOLVE, which stands for Electric Vehicle Opportunities: Learning, eVents, Experience, is a partnership between the American Lung Association and Clean Cities coalitions throughout the Midwest to demonstrate the performance and environmental benefits of electric vehicles.

Employers that have worked with or are scheduled to work with Midwest EVOLVE include:

• Daikin Applied in Minneapolis
• Michigan Agency for Energy in Lansing, Michigan
• Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio
• Target Corporation in Minneapolis
• We Energies in Milwaukee

At Midwest EVOLVE workplace charging seminars, employees learn about the environmental benefits of electric vehicles and the ease of charging vehicles at home, at work, or at public charging stations.

Workplace charging can provide electric vehicle owners an extra 15 to 70 miles of range depending on the charging infrastructure available. This matches well with the characteristics of typical commuters today, of which 90 percent drive less than 40 miles one-way to work, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“More than 50 percent of non-residential parking occurs at the workplace, where layover is often between four to eight hours,” Thurstin said. “This extended period where vehicles are sitting in one place is the perfect time to provide electric vehicle owners with an extension in range.”

Planning and implementation steps for establishing a workplace charging program can be found on the Midwest EVOLVE website.

Midwest EVOLVE launched in early 2017 with more than 60 partners, including the American Lung Association, Argonne National Laboratory, PlugInConnect, automakers, utilities, state agencies, municipalities, dealerships, and dealer associations.

In the seven participating states, which include Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota and Ohio, Midwest EVOLVE has had approximately 60,000 people attend more than 100 events since the program was announced at the Chicago Auto Show in 2017.

Midwest EVOLVE is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), under Award Number DE-EE0007743. To learn more, visit http://www.midwestevolve.org or follow EVOLVE on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.