(The Center Square) – The state of Illinois has offered an incentive package to build an electric vehicle innovation hub and workforce training academy in central Illinois.
TCCI in Decatur is using funds from the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles, or REV, Act to build the facilities, getting just over $21 million in grants.
The project will include a Climatic Center for Innovation & Research facility, which will include a DC fast charger for electric vehicles for testing capability under both extreme cold and hot conditions.
Richard Demirjian, president of TCCI, which manufactures compressors for EVs, said the training program will eventually expand to other schools around the state.
“By the time we open in the fall of 2024, we will have expanded our partnerships to include Illinois State University, the University of Illinois at Springfield, Chicago State University and Governor State University,” Demirjian said at a groundbreaking Wednesday.
Articulation agreements have been signed between Richland Community College and the University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois College of ACES and Northern Illinois University to ensure a seamless transfer of credits for students.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has an ambitious goal of having 1 million EVs on Illinois roads by 2030. Just over 10% of registered vehicles in the state are electric.
One of the obstacles is cost. A new study shows that it is not yet cheaper to charge many electric cars than it would be to fuel their gas-powered counterparts up with gas. Anderson Economic Group found that trucks cost about the same to fuel and charge, while entry and mid level cars and SUVs cost more to charge at home and in public than they do to fuel at a gas station.
