Ford, JPMorganChase, Michigan Central, and others launch Michigan LIFT. Ford Motor Co., JPMorganChase, the State of Michigan, Michigan Central, and Newlab have announced the Michigan Launchpad for Industrial Innovation & Transformation, or Michigan LIFT. September 30, 2026 Ford Motor Co., JPMorganChase, the State of Michigan, Michigan Central, and Newlab have announced the Michigan Launchpad for Industrial Innovation & Transformation, or Michigan LIFT. The public-private initiative is designed to strengthen manufacturers' competitiveness and supply-chain resilience while accelerating the growth of innovative suppliers expanding production in Michigan. The initiative is separate from LIFT in Detroit's Corktown district, a U.S. Department of War-supported national advanced materials and manufacturing innovation institute that is an accelerator connecting advanced materials, manufacturing processes, systems engineering, and talent development. The Michigan LIFT platform translates manufacturing and supply-chain challenges identified by industrial buyers into "Open Calls" for innovative suppliers that can address them. Where a solution shows a credible path to adoption, Michigan LIFT helps connect customer demand, financing, public resources, workforce support, and commercialization services to scale production. Over the next decade, the founding participants aspire to use the platform to connect customer demand, mobilize capital, and provide ecosystem support, subject to each participant's standard qualification, sourcing and approval processes: * Ford, serving as the anchor industrial buyer, aspires to award up to $1 billion of business to innovative suppliers through opportunities advanced by Michigan LIFT, which reflects the same focus on practical solutions for America's industrial future featured at Ford's ACCELERATE The Essential Economy conference. * JPMorganChase, the founding capital provider, aspires to finance up to $1 billion of debt capital to Michigan LIFT suppliers on the platform as part of its Security and Resiliency Initiative, a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to facilitate, finance and invest in industries critical to national security and economic resilience. * State of Michigan, through the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), will serve as the public-sector participant, deploying the state's economic development tools and resources to support innovation-driven companies with credible pathways to commercial and industrial scale. * Michigan Central will provide the physical testing and scaling environment across its 30-acre innovation district, offering purpose-built infrastructure, industry expertise and a collaborative platform to help companies move from prototype to production * Newlab aspires to contribute $20 million of in-kind support focused on translating industrial demand into commercialization opportunities for high-growth companies and providing the execution capacity needed to deliver the platform. * Michigan Central, Newlab, and the MEDC aspire to attract 10-20 additional industrial buyers representing over $1 billion in annual demand commitments by the end of 2036. Suppliers can struggle to reach or expand production based on demand. They also may be challenged by accessing operating or expansion funds on a consistent basis, complex supplier qualifications scattered across multiple organizations, and a shortage of trained workers. Michigan LIFT states it will address such barriers while helping expand U.S. production of critical technologies, components, and capabilities. Michigan LIFT grew out of the Michigan Resiliency Summit, jointly hosted by JPMorganChase and the State of Michigan in Detroit in June, where industrial, financial, and government leaders identified the practical hurdles preventing promising companies and technologies from reaching production scale. "For over a decade, Detroit has shown what is possible when business, government, and community leaders work together for the long term," says Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of JPMorganChase. "Michigan LIFT builds on that same model of public- private collaboration by connecting customer demand, capital, and public resources so more companies can grow, more workers can participate and more critical capabilities can scale here in the United States." The launch also continues JPMorganChase's long-standing engagement in Detroit. The firm's $200 million commitment to the city combined business and philanthropic investment, research, employee expertise, and collaboration with local partners. Lessons from that work have informed the firm's approach in other communities and reinforce the importance of pairing capital with sustained local partnership. Michigan LIFT identified the state as a suitable proving ground. "It brings together manufacturing depth, skilled talent, a broad supplier base, and a growing innovation ecosystem." The founding participants intend to evaluate how lessons learned in Michigan could inform similar efforts elsewhere. "Ford is America's automaker, and we believe American manufacturing's best days are ahead," says Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford. "Michigan LIFT is about helping solve real manufacturing challenges faster. It connects innovators, suppliers and manufacturers with the support they need to scale." Alongside the platform launch, Ford Philanthropy and JPMorganChase announced $550,000 in collective support for Focus: HOPE, a Detroit-based nonprofit providing education and job training. The grant will strengthen Focus: HOPE's industrial manufacturing training program - teaching manufacturing skills, robotics, and welding, while expanding employer connections, career placement support, and transportation assistance for trainees. It also connects the Michigan LIFT platform's innovation and manufacturing goals with the talent needed to strengthen Michigan's supplier network and drive long-term industrial growth. Michigan LIFT starts with priority manufacturing and supply-chain challenges, or Open Calls identified by industrial buyers. Those challenges will initially be based on focus areas aligned with Michigan's industrial strengths and JPMorganChase's Security and Resiliency Initiative priorities, and they include: * Robotics and advanced manufacturing automation * Advanced energy, including nuclear; semiconductors; and battery storage * Advanced mobility, aerospace, propulsion, and critical components * Critical minerals mining, processing, and recovery * Life sciences manufacturing, including pharmaceutical precursors, sterile injectables, medical isotopes, and precision medical devices Suppliers that can address the needs, including companies seeking to establish or expand production in Michigan, can access the Open Calls through michiganlift.org. Eligible applicants will be referred to the relevant industrial buyer for evaluation. For opportunities that move forward, Michigan LIFT will help coordinate potential financing, public resources, and industrialization support, subject to each participant's standard qualification and approval processes. Industrial buyers do not need to be based in Michigan. Companies with priority manufacturing or supply-chain challenges, and suppliers or technology companies with solutions, can learn more and apply at michiganlift.org.

Michigan funds projects to bolster maritime innovation. The Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification is funding a slate of initiatives at the intersection of autonomous tech and seafaring application. The Great Lakes are just one testbed. September 10, 2026 - Autonomous technology is moving into the maritime arena, aiding in search and rescue and other applications. Five projects in Michigan are set to receive funding and support from the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME), as part of the state's Michigan Maritime Strategy to advance technologies supporting its water-based economy. "With four Great Lakes, extensive waterways, ports, manufacturers, and research institutions, Michigan is well positioned to support technologies ranging from autonomous vessels and marine robotics to infrastructure inspection and environmental monitoring," said Chelsea Wuth, a communications specialist with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, in an email. The state awarded $3.5 million combined to the five projects as part of its mission to establish Michigan as a testbed for autonomous and remotely operated maritime technologies serving both commercial and defense markets. The endeavors include the Freshwater Operational Requirements to Government-Ready Equipment (FORGE) initiative to develop and test equipment from Hawk Technologies to pre-stage a network of autonomous vessels, in partnership with Keweenaw County Search and Rescue, the Keweenaw County Sheriff's Office, Michigan Technological University's Great Lakes Research Center and the U.S. Coast Guard. The one-year project will operate in open water on Lake Superior. The Hawk-led undertaking aims to turn "a life-saving operational need on Lake Superior into a scalable, production-ready solution, designed and built right here in Michigan," Hawk Technologies President Greg Kangas said in a statement. In another project, Newlab was awarded $400,000 to support the early development of an autonomous maritime testing corridor, which will feature testing nodes at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) in Alpena and the Port of Monroe. Newlab and industry partners will initially focus on testing marine autonomy technologies at the NADWC in Alpena and on Lake Huron, and at the Port of Detroit and Port of Monroe, Wuth said. The project will establish testing zones, safety protocols, regulatory pathways, and data governance frameworks for autonomous maritime technologies. It aims to translate testing activity into long-term economic growth, connecting Michigan technology innovation leaders with future federal investment, officials said. The autonomous maritime testing corridor builds on Michigan's existing marine autonomy capabilities, including Michigan Technological University's Great Lakes Research Center, the Marine Autonomy Research Site with the Smart Ships Coalition, and Traverse City's BlueTech Innovation Hub. Other projects to receive funding include AquaEntrepreneur, a "pilot-to-procurement commercialization platform" developed by AquaAction where participating companies will validate technologies in real-world environments for deployment across Michigan's ports, utilities and watershed infrastructure. "The state is full of innovative companies that often need just two things to succeed: expert guidance and the pilot opportunities that can be a golden ticket to commercialization. We're here to provide both," AquaAction President Soula Chronopoulos said in a statement. Also receiving funding is the BlueTech Startup Studio in Traverse City, which includes a fully electric Vita Power Seal rigid inflatable boat research vessel for advanced maritime inspection capabilities. And the Industrial Arts Institute in Onaway will get funding to develop a specialized training curriculum designed to support Michigan's growing maritime and naval industries.