None of the five Michigan regions that sought an influx of federal dollars aimed at jumpstarting growth in the tech sector were selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.
The department announced the designation of 31 tech hubs across the country that will receive funding.
While Michigan was not among the 31 Tech Hubs selected by the EDA, the agency also awarded Strategy Development Grants to help communities become more competitive for tech hub funding in the future. One of those grants will go to the Materials Advancement and Research Solutions Strategy Development Consortium led by Michigan State University Research Foundation.
The CHIPS and Science Act passed by Congress directed the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to launch a national contest — the “Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program” — in which regions across the U.S. competed for federal dollars to spur tech innovation in more communities.
Congress authorized $10 billion for the program and each region selected will receive $50 million-$75 million from the initial $500 million appropriation, Jonathan Smith, senior chief deputy director for the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, previously told the Free Press. “But then once the whole thing is fully funded, it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars per tech hub,” he said.
Five “tech hub” pitches came from Michigan: mobility in Detroit-Ann Arbor, battery production innovation in greater Grand Rapids, materials advancement and research in the Lansing area, water technology in Traverse City and an air mobility hub led by Western Michigan University.
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Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, the Michigan Infrastructure Office (MIO), the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation partnered to support the applications from Michigan and held an innovation summit in June to hone the pitches.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.