LANSING — The Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) announced on Friday the selection of five projects to receive funding through the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP) Michigan Maritime Innovation Grant Program, supporting innovative technologies, commercialization efforts and workforce initiatives that will strengthen Michigan’s maritime economy and accelerate implementation of the state’s newly released Michigan Maritime Strategy. Michigan’s $1.5 million investment will leverage an additional $2 million from private industry, bringing the total investment in the five projects to $3.5 million.

“Michigan’s maritime industry plays a key role in more than 350,000 shipping-related jobs across the U.S. and Canada contributing to more than $50 billion in economic activity,” said Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Susan Corbin. “This investment furthers Michigan’s efforts to support intermodal transportation, manufacturing, tourism, recreation and fishing and lead the way in building our workforce and infrastructure to keep our economy strong.”

The State of Michigan recently unveiled the Michigan Maritime Strategy, the first comprehensive 10-year roadmap to grow the state’s maritime economy by driving economic development, attracting investment, fostering innovation, creating high-quality career opportunities and protecting the Great Lakes. The strategy outlines a statewide vision for strengthening Michigan’s water-based economy through investments in infrastructure, clean energy, research and workforce development and resilient ports and waterfronts.

The Maritime Innovation Grant Program supports projects advancing one or more of the strategy’s four priority objectives:

– Supporting economic development by modernizing maritime infrastructure, improving intermodal transportation connectivity, leveraging manufacturing capabilities and strengthening supply chain resilience.

– Accelerating the maritime sector’s transition to clean energy.

– Investing in maritime research, innovation, education and workforce development.

– Enhancing the sustainability, resilience and revitalization of Michigan’s ports, harbors, and waterfront communities.

“These projects demonstrate how emerging technologies, entrepreneurs and public-private partnerships can strengthen our maritime economy while accelerating real-world innovation.” said Justine Johnson, State of Michigan Chief Mobility Officer. “By investing in solutions that improve our ports, waterways and maritime operations, we’re helping implement Michigan’s first Maritime Strategy.”

“Michigan has all the ingredients to become a leader in BlueTech innovation, from world-class freshwater assets and maritime expertise to a growing network of entrepreneurs, researchers and industry partners,” said Matt McDonough, CEO, Discovery Pier. “The projects supported through this program will help move promising technologies from concept to real-world deployment while strengthening the partnerships that make innovation possible. We’re proud to work alongside the State of Michigan to help implement the Maritime Strategy and build a more competitive, resilient maritime economy.”

The five selected projects include:

– AquaAction – Commercializing BlueTech Innovation of Detroit.

– BlueTech Startup Studio and Electric Research Vessel of Traverse City.

– Autonomous Maritime Testing Corridor in Detroit and Alpena.

A coalition led by Newlab will establish Michigan’s first autonomous maritime testing corridor, anchored by initial testing nodes at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) in Alpena and the Port of Monroe.

Building upon Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Infrastructure for Innovation Initiative (Executive Directive 2024-2), the project will establish testing zones, safety protocols, regulatory pathways, and data governance frameworks for autonomous maritime technologies. The initiative is designed to convert testing activity into long-term economic growth by connecting innovators with Michigan manufacturers and creating a scalable framework capable of attracting future federal investment. This project expands upon Michigan’s existing suite of marine autonomous testing capabilities.