DETROIT – Four Michigan companies will each receive $50,000 worth of business commercialization acceleration services and cash after winning the 8th Annual Global Automotive & Mobility Innovation Challenge held this week at the SAE World Congress.

AutoHarvest,  Automation Alley, AutoTech Technology Development, BrooksKushman, Detroit Regional Chamber, DENSO, Eisbrenner Public Relations, ESG Automotive,  Franco Public Relations Group, GM Ventures, Market Results Ventures, MICHAuto, Michigan Innovation Alliance, MidMichigan Innovation Center, MMTC, NextEnergy, Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), Quantum Innovations, Quinn Law Group, SAE, Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox, Technology Highway, Techstars and TechTown are serving as sponsors with some providing cash and in-kind business commercialization acceleration services to the winners.

The contest is organized by SAE International, MI Innovation Alliance and NextEnergy.

The winners were selected from four categories:

Category One: Connected Vehicles

Holland-based, Jolt Energy Storage Technologies LLC  – Chemistry for improved safety, lower cost, and improved performance of lithium ion batteries without the need for additional investment by the battery cell manufacturers. 

Category Two: Advanced materials, sensors, and manufacturing processes

Ann Arbor-based, Civionics, Inc. – Comprehensive wireless monitoring solution that reliably tracks the performance and health of advanced engineered systems operating in demanding environments.  

Category Three: New Automotive Consumer and Business Opportunities

Ann Arbor-based, IndustryStar LLC – Patent-pending supply chain software-as-a-service platform expedites, optimizes and de-risks your supply chain.

Category Four: Automotive Innovation

Wixom-based SurClean – Disruptive laser technology that selectively removes paint and other surface coatings from many surfaces, like aircraft, ships, bridges and other major assets.   

More than 40 companies from around the world applied to this year’s GAMIC, and nine became finalists during the final pitch event held at NextEnergy March 10.  The nine finalists included: Algocian Inc., Brakers Early Warning Systems, Inc., Civionics, Inc., IndustryStar LLC, Jolt Energy Storage Technologies LLC, Kasi Technologies AB, SPLT Enterprise, SurClean and XIR Technologies.

Finalists made their final pitches to a judging committee made up of prominent leaders from the automotive industry, representing both OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. The four winners will present again on Thursday, April 14, at 3:45 p.m. at the SAE New Innovation event Tech Hub.

For more information about the Global Automotive & Mobility Innovation Challenge, visit www.miinnovationalliance.org.