German EV charging company plans $14.4 million North American headquarters in Detroit

Another electric vehicle charging company is targeting Michigan for operations.

German EV charging company EcoG plans to invest $14.4 million and create a North American headquarters in Detroit, adjacent to Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Central project, according to a briefing memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. It would be headquartered in the renovated Book Depository building, now called Newlab.

The Michigan Strategic Fund board on Tuesday approved a $1.5 million Michigan Business Development Program grant as part of the capital stack to make the EcoG development economically viable, according to a memo it received from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The memo indicated the company also considered facilities in Georgia and Ohio for its investment.

“This project aligns with the [Michigan Economic Development Corp.'s] strategic focus area of supporting a business in the target industry of mobility and builds on the state's work to position itself as the global leader in the future of mobility and vehicle electrification,” the memo said. “The proposed project will also impact the local region with high wages from an emerging EV technology provider.”

The planned project would result in up to 45 new jobs paying $2,777 per week plus benefits, according to the memo.

Founded in 2017 in Munich, EcoG has 42 employees and a 15 percent market share in the European Union EV charging market.

EcoG has partnerships with about 30 car manufacturers, including each of the Big 3, the memo said. The company raised nearly $6.3 million in Series A venture capital funding in 2022, according to Pitchbook, a data provider for the startup and venture capital sector. 

The move is further testament to the plans of Ford Motor Co. and its Michigan Central project serving as a catalyst for tech startup growth in Detroit. 

"We've already got over 25 companies located here and we're just getting started," Joshua Sirefman, CEO of Michigan Central, told Crain's Detroit Business, a sibling publication of Automotive News, last year when the renovated Book Depository building opened as part of Ford's overall development of the area. "Over half of those are literally from around the country and around the world."

Detroit Manufacturing Systems is working on diversifying its business beyond supplying instrument panels for Ford pickups, as Crain's Detroit Business reported this month. Detroit-based Drive Technologies Inc. — which does business as Treehouse and focuses on streamlining the EV charging installation process — last summer raised $10 million in venture capital funding.