LANSING – The State of Michigan today announced the launch of the next round of the Make It in Michigan Mobility Prototyping Grant Program, a key initiative aimed at strengthening the state’s leadership in mobility, electrification, autonomous systems, and advanced manufacturing innovation.
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 program offers grant awards of up to $100,000 per company, with a total funding pool of $2 million available dedicated 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,” said Justine Johnson, Chief Mobility Officer with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). “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 grant program will provide technical services and financial support to startups and established companies working across all modes of mobility — air, ground, and sea — with a focus on uncrewed autonomous systems, critical mobility components addressing domestic supply chain gaps, and other breakthrough mobility innovations. Companies with technologies at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4 through 9 are eligible to apply.
Preference will be given to applicants that commit to developing, piloting, and manufacturing their technologies in Michigan, particularly within OFME’s test site network, innovation districts, and defense innovation centers. The program also 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,” said John Gutierrez, Executive Director of the Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation. “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.”
Dan Radomski, CEO of Centrepolis Accelerator, emphasized the program’s alignment with Centrepolis’ mission. “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.”
The Michigan Mobility Prototyping grant program was established in 2024, attracting 86 applications from across the globe. A total of $828,000 in grants were awarded to 17 projects supporting a wide variety of mobility technologies from autonomous drone systems, electric vehicles and chargers, hydrogen generation, and storage systems.
Applications for this new round will open on May 28, 2025, with a deadline to apply by July 7, 2025. Final award selections are expected to be announced by Sept. 1, with projects set to begin in October.
For more information or how to apply, visit: https://www.centrepolisaccelerator.com/Programs/Make-it-in-Michigan-Prototype-Grant-Program
