Michigan Strategic Fund Strengthens STEM Workforce with New Initiative
The Michigan Strategic Fund has approved an initiative that will continue to strengthen Michigan’s economy and build a foundation for prosperity in the future. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is partnering with Ann Arbor SPARK to launch the Michigan STEM Forward internship program statewide set to annually place up to 450 STEM students currently enrolled in Michigan colleges into STEM-focused internships in the state. The $1.5M grant funding will contribute to interns’ pay and the program is open to any business in the state with a STEM-focused position and builds on an existing regional program run by SPARK that has demonstrated significant success over the past decade.
| LEARN MORE ABOUT MICHIGAN STEM FORWARD |
Mobility Spotlight: Ford Invests $75M in New University of Michigan Robotics Facility
Ford Motor Company is investing $75M and embedding 100 of its researchers and engineers into a new robotics and mobility facility on the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (U-M) campus.
The collaboration will give Ford the space, technologies, and talent needed to conduct robotics and mobility research at the 134,00-square-foot building. Ford will also be able to leverage the nearby MCity Test Facility, a simulated Main Street for testing vehicles in real-world conditions.
As part of the arrangement, U-M and Ford will be developing an inclusive curriculum to open more opportunities in robotics and mobility to underserved students.
| READ MORE ABOUT THE NEW FACILITY |
In Case You Missed it: 2021 State of Automobility
MICHauto‘s annual State of Automobility provided an update on Michigan’s flagship industry and offered insights on the future of mobility, including exploring areas ripe with collaborative opportunity.
This year’s event coincided with the release of the Mobility Industry’s Economic Contribution in Michigan Report, which lives up to its namesake by analyzing the economic contribution of mobility and how we can better understand and harness the potential of the industry.
| READ MORE AND WATCH VIDEOS FROM THE EVENT |
MPSC Approves DTE’s Plan for Supporting Fleet Electrification
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved DTE Energy‘s plan to continue with the second phase of the Charging Forward electric vehicle pilot program, which will see up to $10.3M invested in the program through 2025.
Launched in May 2019, the program is one of three utility pilot programs the MPSC approved to speed up electric vehicle adoption in Michigan. The second phase of the program is aimed at preventing disruption to electric vehicle adoption and encourage fleet electrification expansion. DTE plans to establish an education and outreach plan zeroing in on Michigan’s commercial fleet operators.
| LEARN MORE ABOUT CHARGING FORWARD |
Watch: A Conversation About Future Mobility and Economic Opportunity
Catch up on a recorded conversation between Michigan’s Chief Mobility Officer, Trevor Pawl, and members of the Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electrification, Emily Frascaroli (Ford) and Cory Connolly (Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council).
The trio talked about the economic opportunities that can be created with disruptive, new mobility and electrification technologies right here in Michigan. The conversation covered a variety of mobility-related topics and addressed questions from the livestream audience in real-time.
| READ MORE AND WATCH THE FULL CONVERSATION |
Resources and Opportunities
- Request for Proposal – Michigan EGLE Clean Fuel Grants: Applications Open
- Women in Mobility Detroit: Sign up for meetups, updates, news and more
- Read the inaugural report form the Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electrification
- MEDC Whitepaper: Powering Up Electric Vehicles Key Part of Michigan Future Plans
Upcoming Events
- April 6: GENIVi: Service-Oriented Architecture
- April 7: Accessibility for Passengers with Sensory and Cognitive Disabilities: Part 1
- April 8: Ann Arbor SPARK: Michigan STEM Forward Information Session
- April 9: MEDC: Talking Traffic: When Infrastructure Speaks with Vehicles
- April 9: College for Creative Studies Presentation & Mobility Roundtable
- April 10: Michigan Mobility Institute: Mobility Ready Seminar
- April 12-13: 2021 Global Symposium on Connected & Autonomous Vehicles and Infrastructure
- April 21: Accessibility for Passengers with Sensory and Cognitive Disabilities: Part 2
In the News
Report: Michigan’s mobility industry supported 1 in every 5 jobs in 2019
Nearly one in every five workers in Michigan was either directly or indirectly employed by the mobility industry in 2019, according to a report released Wednesday by the Detroit Regional Chamber’s MICHauto group.
The report looked to quantify the economic contribution of the state’s mobility industry – which includes automotive, transportation and other related industries – for the first time before the pandemic hit and decimated those industries, particularly in the second half of 2020.
The mobility industry is recovering, but unevenly, with goods-producing industries, like vehicles, starting to rebound. At the same time, many service sectors, including passenger transportation, haven’t recovered, the report said.
Detroit-based electric pickup startup Hercules seeks $20 million in funding round
A Detroit-based electric pickup startup seeks $20 million in venture funding as it hopes to launch a product by late next year.
The 3-year-old Hercules Electric Mobility Inc. announced Wednesday that it has formally opened a $20 million Series A funding round with the goal of making the Hercules Alpha, an all-electric truck, available for sale by late 2022, according to a statement from the company. The round is being managed by investment banking firm CMD Global Partners LLC.
“This is an exciting period for Hercules, which is on a tremendous growth path for 2021,” James Breyer, the company’s founder and CEO, said in a news release. “We’re making tremendous strides in our pursuit to create next-generation fun and efficient, high-performance mobility products.”
Meijer to Install EV Charging Stations at Supercenters
Grand Rapids’ Meijer has announced it will partner with California’s EVgo to add a public fast charging network for electric vehicles that is powered entirely by renewable electricity.
Installation of the charging stations will begin this summer across Meijer’s supercenters, allowing customers to charge while they shop. The partnership will add to the more than 800 fast charging locations EVgo already owns and operates, while growing EVgo’s footprint and base of more than 220,000 customers nationwide.
EVgo charging stations are capable of powering all fast-charge capable vehicles on the road today.
New EV sales account for less than 2 percent of all vehicle purchases. The EV market is challenged by range anxiety, slow charging times, a lack of a national charging network, and a steep drop in resale values. The batteries, once they reach their end life, also are difficult to recycle.
University of Michigan OKs ‘net-zero’ carbon emission plan
The University of Michigan announced a plan Thursday to achieve “net zero” carbon footprint status for its $12.5 billion endowment by 2050 through measures including shifting away from investment in fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.
The strategy approved by the university’s board of regents includes a pledge to move away from holdings in funds that focus primarily on extraction of oil or thermal coal. It calls for $140 million worth of new investments in solar and wind developments and projects to limit carbon emissions.
“The fundamental goal is to wring carbon out of our entire investment portfolio,” board member Mark Bernstein said.
Mustang Mach-E, ‘bellwether’ of auto industry’s EV bet, makes way to Michigan customers
The Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s Motor Co.’s inaugural battery-electric vehicle, is now rolling onto driveways in southeast Michigan and beyond, fueling excitement among buyers like Gene Zynda.
“It’s like learning how to drive again because it is different,” said Zynda, 74, of Rochester Hills. “It really is fun to drive – exhilarating.”
Despite delivery delays slowing its widely anticipated rollout, the e-SUV is earning favorable comparisons to Tesla Inc.’s Model Y and rave reviews from critics, analysts and customers wowed by its styling, high-tech features and performance. In January, it was named Utility of the Year by the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards.
SF Motors to sell Indiana plant to Michigan van maker Electric Last Mile
SF Motors, the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese light-vehicle manufacturer Sokon, plans to sell an electric-vehicle assembly plant in Indiana to Michigan electric van maker Electric Last Mile.
The deal is priced at $145 million, Shanghai-listed Sokon said in a statement Wednesday.
After the purchase closes, SF Motors will grant Electric Last Mile a license to distribute two of the EV models, code-named EC35 and D51, in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
SF Motors will also allow Electric Last Mile to procure the two vehicles as well as associated kits and components from China, Sokon added, without revealing additional details about the vehicles.
BorgWarner looks to electrify business, Wall Street under new plan
A reputation is a hard thing to shake.
Auburn Hills-based BorgWarner Inc. is a powertrain and turbochargers supplier shrouded in Wall Street’s view of slow-moving legacy parts makers overshadowed by the auto industry’s ever-increasing move away from the internal combustion engine.
BorgWarner has spent nearly a decade trying to shake its label with the 2016 acquisition of electric motor maker Remy International, its $1.6 billion acquisition last year of powertrain and aftermarket Delphi Technologies and the acquisition of German commercial electric vehicle battery pack maker Akasol AG last month.
