MEDC awards German EV company $1.5M grant to establish headquarters in Corktown

A Germany-based provider of electric vehicle charging technology will launch its North American headquarters in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood.

Jörg Heuer, CEO and founder of EcoG, Inc., says Detroit is the perfect place to develop the level three vehicle charging technology due to it being home to the Big Three auto companies.

“With respect to the context of automotive innovation, the openness also now in the startup culture, we believe that Detroit is the place to be,” said Heuer.

The company is supported by $14 million dollars in private money, as well as a $1.5 million performance-based grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, to develop the technology.

Heur says the new technology will bring North America to a global standard.  

“We have a clearer perspective that actually, compared to the other regions, North America will take over the lead in the next two to three years,” he said.

The facility will be located in the historic Book Depository Building adjacent to Ford’s Michigan Central Innovation District, and will serve as the company’s North American operating base.

This project — expected to generate a total private investment of $14.4 million and create 45 high-wage jobs — builds on the state’s work to position itself as the global leader in the future of mobility and vehicle electrification.

“This project represents the kind of investment we are putting Michigan in a position to win through its Make It in Michigan strategy,” said Quentin Messer, Jr., CEO of the MEDC and president and chair of the Michigan Strategic Fund, in a news release. “We are grateful for EcoG’s vote of confidence in our state, and we are grateful to Governor Whitmer, legislators from both parties, and local officials in the Detroit region for their continued support for our economic development tools that help make announcements like today’s possible.”