The next round of the Make It in Michigan Mobility Prototyping Grant Program was launched recently by state officials.
The initiative is aimed at strengthening the state’s leadership in mobility, electrification, autonomous systems, and advanced manufacturing innovation. The program offers grant awards of up to $100,000 per company, with some $2 million available for product development of mobility technology.
“The Make It in Michigan Mobility Prototyping Program is a critical part of our strategy to ensure Michigan remains the global leader for designing, engineering, and manufacturing next-generation mobility solutions,” Justine Johnson, chief mobility officer with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), said. “This program will help us not only support Michigan-grown innovation but also attract best-in-class companies to engineer, build and scale their technologies right here in Michigan.”
The program is led by the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) and the Michigan Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation (ODAI), in partnership with Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University,
The grant program will provide technical services and financial support to startups and established companies in the mobility industry, including those that operate in the air, on the ground, or at sea. The focus is on uncrewed autonomous systems, critical mobility components addressing domestic supply chain gaps, and other mobility innovations.
Preference is given to applicants that commit to developing and manufacturing their technologies in Michigan. Further, the program emphasizes dual-purpose technologies with both commercial and defense applications.
“This program supports technologies with the potential to serve both commercial and national defense needs — an essential focus of our work at ODAI,” John Gutierrez, executive director of the Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation, said. “We’re proud to back innovations that strengthen domestic supply chains, increase our national security capabilities, and drive defense-related economic growth here in Michigan.”
The Michigan Mobility Prototyping grant program was established in 2024. Last year, it attracted 86 applications from across the globe with a total of $828,000 in grants awarded to 17 projects. The projects supported a wide variety of mobility technologies from autonomous drone systems, electric vehicles and chargers, hydrogen generation, and storage systems.
“This initiative is about strengthening America’s domestic manufacturing capabilities and building a more resilient supply chain, starting here in Michigan,” he said. “By supporting product development, prototyping, and manufacturing readiness for innovative mobility and electrification technologies, we are ensuring critical technologies are developed, built, and scaled within the United States utilizing the value engineering capabilities unique to Michigan,” Dan Radomski, CEO of Centrepolis Accelerator, said.
Applications for this new round will run from May 28 through July 7. Final award selections are expected to be announced by Sept. 1, with projects set to begin in October.