Michigan companies will receive $618,000 to speed EVs

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the second round of Michigan Mobility Funding Platform grants, which will disburse $618,000 to seven entities.

AbleLink Smart Living Technologies, Fermata Energy, iSmartWays, Lazarillo, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Michigan State University, and Stantec – received more than $618,000 to deploy pilot mobility projects aimed to speed electric vehicle adoption.

“These grants and the projects they fund are helping us put Michiganders first, growing our economy and positioning Michigan as a leader in the development and implementation of safe, sustainable mobility solutions,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Through these community-led initiatives and technologies, our residents will be empowered to take control of their transportation options with more accessible and affordable solutions that will lead to a greater quality of life here in Michigan.”

The Michigan Mobility Funding Platform provides grants to mobility and electrification organizations looking to deploy solutions in the state of Michigan.

“Michigan is leading the charge in mobility innovation, developing solutions that not only address transportation challenges here in Michigan, but help solve universal issues by testing, developing and deploying technologies with meaningful real-world applications,” Office of Future Mobility and Electrification Chief Mobility Officer Trevor Pawl said in a statement.

The Michigan Mobility Funding Platform are designed to encourage electric vehicle (EV) adoption and the buildout of EV charging infrastructure.

Michigan Mobility Funding Platform Grant recipients are as follows:

• AbleLink Smart Living Technologies ($100,000 – Wayne, Oakland. Macomb, and Washtenaw Counties): AbleLink Smart Living Technologies will ease independent travel for individuals with cognitive disabilities by implementing its WayFinder Ecosystem into the transit systems serving Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw counties.

“For a person with cognitive disabilities, being able to ride the bus by yourself offers the opportunity to get a job, visit friends and family, and the freedom to go where you want – when you want,” AbleLink Smart Living Technologies Founder and President Daniel K. Davies said in a statement.

• Fermata Energy ($93,690 – Detroit): Fermata Energy will use a Nissan LEAF EV to provide building load management at a Bedrock development site in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. Fermata Energy’s bidirectional EV charger and proprietary energy management software will manage energy costs with Sway Mobility’s equitably accessible carshare-as-a-service. The project aims to provide low-cost, clean mobility to Corktown residents who would not otherwise have access to EVs while providing electricity cost savings for businesses through vehicle-to-building (V2B) charge management.
• iSmartWays ($100,000 – Detroit): iSmartWays is partnering with the Connected and Autonomous Driving (CAR) Lab at Wayne State University, WSP USA and Qualcomm to deploy connected intersections on the University’s campus in Detroit’s Midtown area. The goal of the project is to improve safety, reduce congestion, optimize traffic flow and improve fleet vehicle arrival times.
•  Lazarillo ($75,000 – Detroit): Lazarillo will attempt to improve mobility and accessibility for people with visual disabilities living in Detroit neighborhoods such as Corktown, Midtown, Mexicantown, and Downtown. Lazarillo will enhance geolocation services for public transportation systems in Detroit as well as map street intersections, sidewalks and businesses to help blind users navigate city life more safely.

“The team at Lazarillo is so excited and grateful for the opportunity provided by this grant,” Lazarillo Founder and CEO René Espinoza said in a statement. “It’s going to help us reach and support more people with disabilities in Michigan, and help small businesses improve their accessibility in-person and online.”

• Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America ($150,000): Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America partnered with Meijer to test and deploy autonomous vehicle infrastructure that will enable Meijer distribution centers to automate trailer movement around distribution center lots. The program helps address ongoing driver and labor shortages, and could ultimately be applied at other distribution centers, ports, and public infrastructures.
• Michigan State University ($100,000 – Ingham County): Michigan State University, together with Qnergy Co., Bollinger Motors and Ingham County, will develop a mobile waste-to-electricity solution to allow small- and medium-scale farm operations to convert organic wastes into electricity for electric vehicles or farm equipment.

“The system developed by this project to link rural biogas generation and rural electric vehicle charging solutions could lead to a win-win-win solution for rural communities, the electric vehicle industry and the environment,” MSU Professor Dr. Wei Liao said in a statement.

• Stantec ($100,000 – Oakland County): Stantec is partnering with POCO Labs, Shyft, evTS, Interplai, Nino Salvaggio, Wygo, General Motors, Aon, and Amazon Web Services – to pilot an automated vehicle delivery program for groceries in Troy.

This article was originally posted on Michigan companies will receive $618,000 to speed EVs