ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source)-On Thursday, Lieutenant Governor Garland Gilchrist announced that plans have been finalized to build a new University of Michigan Electric Vehicle Center.
This new addition to the UM comes after Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law a $130 million appropriation in the FY 2023 budget to build this new center.
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“We’re undergoing a redefinition of personal mobility in a way we haven’t seen in a century,” Alan Taub, Robert H. Lurie Professor of Engineering and Director of the Electric Vehicle Center said in a statement. “It requires changes to the vehicles, the infrastructure, consumer behavior, policy and more. We need academia, industry, and government to work together to enable a smooth transition. Southeast Michigan drove the evolution of mobility from the horse and carriage to affordable automobiles 100 years ago. We have what it takes to do it again, but the stakes are as tremendous as the opportunity.”
According to UM, a preliminary study shows that of the automotive jobs considered “high risk,” Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio have more than half of the jobs in the most at risk category. Michigan is expected to see some of the highest growth in battery manufacturing capabilities by 2030, says a report by Argonne National Labs.
The proposed center would be built on the North Campus with the College of Engineering with the Board of Regents’ approval. Also pending approval from the Board, is the contract for the center which would allot $60 million for the campus infrastructure, including: “teaching, training and development facility with an expanded, upgraded Battery Lab to support both hands-on education and research into next-generation technologies.”
“Michigan is competing with everyone to lead the future of cars, chips, and clean energy,” Lt. Governor Gilchrist II said in a statement. “Cutting-edge research and development centers like the one here at U-M will bring together the innovators, dreamers, and doers that will help us grow our economy, build the future right here in Michigan, and define the next century of mobility. Governor Whitmer and I were proud to partner with the University of Michigan to get this done.”
UM officials also said that roughly $20 million of the state investments will be set aside for educational offerings to engage more than 1,200 students a year. The center’s three main focuses of the campus include workforce, technology research, and advanced campus facilities.
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