NextEnergy

We had a great time networking with industry leaders at the most recent Mobility Meetup hosted by MichAuto and the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (Mobility MI) at Kettering University! Kettering's GM Research Center is one of four test sites that are part of the Global Epicenter of Mobility (GEM) Testing and Proving Pillar. It's a great place to test mobility technology! We have supported the research center in making infrastructure investments to improve capabilities, so it was a great event to learn more about the center and Kettering University!

NEWS: We are excited to work with Rhythmos.io to optimize EV charging in Michigan! Rhythmos.io is the latest Michigan Mobility Funding Program recipient and will partner with Consumers Energy to launch its CadencyEdgeAI? platform. Through this platform, public utilities could save more than $7.3 million by 2035. These savings come from avoided and deferred transformer upgrades made possible by the platform. As the project manager for this grant, we will support Rhythmos.io as this technology identifies Level 2 EV charging locations, monitoring their impact on distribution system assets. The pilot will also recruit existing EV drivers to participate in a program designed to reduce energy infrastructure costs and customer charging expenses. See more from the announcement, including how we will measure success: https://lnkd.in/euRUxcgv

Our friends at Orange Sparkle Ball, Inc. recently completed four pilot programs as part of the new Penny Pickup platform. This was made possible by a Real World Deployment Grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification. The pilots explored the use of robots picking up different material types around Detroit's Transportation Innovation Zone. Materials collected included: ?? Residential food waste for composting ??? Plastic bag collection for recycling ?? Small electronics retrieval for refurbishment ?? Commercial food waste collection for bioplastic production In total, autonomous robots completed 15 pickups. These included 120lbs of commercial food waste, 19lbs of electronics, and approximately 60 plastic bags. Check out more metrics in the graphic below.

Following the Corktown Carshare announcement from Mapless AI and Sway Mobility, our Jolene Castillo talked about our role in this project. We are proud to support companies making a difference with their innovative technology.

As Lauren Mattar steps into her new director of mobility initiatives position, we think it's a great time to review our role in the mobility industry. We are dedicated to accelerating the adoption of advanced mobility solutions that create economic and environmental benefits for communities. Our team provides support to enable the success of key initiatives in Michigan and beyond. Learn more about these in the carousel below!

If you haven’t checked out Newlab next to Michigan Central, you’re missing out! This hub of innovation features the technology and innovation from several of our partners including HAAS Alert, Orange Sparkle Ball, Inc. , and ALBA Robot.

2024 was a big year for us at NextEnergy! We collaborated with and supported more than 50 innovative energy and mobility demonstrations, pilot projects, and testing programs. Our annual update includes milestones and news from several of our initiatives and partner projects, including: ?? Detroit Smart Parking Lab ?? Michigan Mobility Funding Platform ??? Michigan Clean Cities ?? #MiNextCities ??? Urban Tech Xchange Check out the full annual update: https://lnkd.in/eZqfp9dc

NEW: Director of Mobility Initiatives Lauren Mattar shared her vision for 2025 and beyond. This includes our work on the: - Michigan Mobility Funding Platform - Global Epicenter for Mobility Testing and Proving Pillar - Detroit Smart Parking Lab - Urban Tech Xchange - Hydrogen Heavy-Duty Vehicle Industry Group Learn more about where NextEnergy is going this year and beyond: https://lnkd.in/eRekitqa

Congrats to our friends Mapless AI and Sway Mobility on launching Corktown Carshare in the City of Detroit! This partnership brings together Mapless AI’s remote driving solution with Sway Mobility’s EV carshare fleet. The result: vehicles dispatched on-demand wherever they are needed. Mapless AI and Sway Mobility are bringing teleoperation to shared mobility and we are thrilled to be a part of it! Thank you Philipp Robbel and Michael Peters for participating in our video interviews at the Detroit Auto Show!