SOUTHFIELD—Lawrence Technological University’s Blue Devil Motorsports teams are bringing back their annual autumn Grand Prix of time trials for student-designed Formula-style race cars. Last held in October 2019, the event went on hiatus for 2020 due to the pandemic. Established in 2009, LTU’s 12th Grand Prix will be held Saturday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m.
LAKE ORION—American Battery Solutions Inc., the Lake Orion-based maker of lithium ion batteries, announced an increase in size of its Michigan Innovation Center from 40,000 square feet to 115,000 square feet, a move that will create 75 jobs. Financial details of the expansion were not disclosed. Company officials said the expansion and employment growth supports
ANN ARBOR—Officials at the Ann Arbor-based Association for Advancing Automation, robot orders in the second quarter of 2021 were up 67 percent over the same period in 2020, showing a return to pre-COVID 19 pandemic demand for automation as manufacturers and other North American companies return to business. A3 said North American companies ordered 9,853
LANSING—Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and officials of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced that the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded the MEDC’s Michigan Defense Center a $2.4 million grant to assist Michigan defense suppliers with cybersecurity efforts. The defense center will use the grant to enhance its Michigan Defense CyberSmart program, a one-stop shop to assist small-
DETROIT – Louisville-based Protect Environmental, an environmental consulting company, has been acquired by Rockbridge Growth Equity, the Detroit-based private equity investor. This acquisition is part of a series of investments by Rockbridge related to its national environmental services platform, currently operating as RB Home Services. The platform provides property owners and developers, lenders, real estate
DETROIT – DTE Energy announced that it is ceasing all coal use at its Belle River Power Plant in St. Clair County no later than December 2028 – at least two years earlier than the facility's previously scheduled 2030 coal use end date – enabling DTE to achieve its 50 percent carbon emissions reduction goal faster
WYOMING — University of Michigan Health-West (formerly Metro Health– University of Michigan Health) is the first system in the state to pilot automated documentation in the exam room, allowing health providers to focus on the patient rather than the computer. The AI-powered Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) is an ambient clinical intelligence solution that captures
DEARBORN – Millenium Energy Company announced that its HVAC Infrastructure & Energy Initiative has been recognized for new energy efficiency technologies that support a national effort to create sustainability in older buildings. This multi-year project aimed to turn Dearborn’s 80-acre building complex across from the Ford World Headquarters into a world-class, energy-efficient, sustainable municipal campus.
ANN ARBOR - The University of Michigan has announced the launch of Innovation Partnerships, a reorganized unit that will serve as a central hub to lead research commercialization efforts, support startup company launch and growth, and create and foster corporate research alliances. The newly named Innovation Partnerships, based in the Office of the Vice President
LANSING - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer seeks to inject $200 million into Michigan technology startups using federal pandemic relief funds, as part of a broader $1.52 billion proposal for using federal American Rescue Plan Act funding that Congress approved in March. Whitmer’s Startup Resiliency Initiative would put $140 million into direct equity investments in tech startups
