DETROIT _ The state of Michigan will provide a $17 million loan for the design and construction of research facilities at a proposed autonomous- and connected-vehicle center outside Detroit.
The Michigan Strategic Fund approved the investment Tuesday, one week after greenlighting $1.2 million for the purchase of 311 acres at the former Willow Run bomber plant, which was built by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. The land and buildings to be constructed are to house the American Center for Mobility.
Users will include automakers, universities and governmental bodies. The center, formed in April as a nonprofit entity, represents Michigan's effort to position itself as one of the hubs for development of cars that can drive themselves in clearly defined environments and communicate with other vehicles to avoid crashes.
"Return on this investment is projected primarily to be generated from monthly payments by ACM," a memo describing the funding said. "It is anticipated these returns will be paid over 30 years."
Gov. Rick Snyder and members of the Michigan congressional delegation met last week with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. They asked Foxx to initiate a competitive bid for what would be a nationally certified testing and validation center for autonomous vehicles.
Designation as a national research center brings the possibility of federal funding.
Competing bids could come from the Center for Advanced Automotive Research at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.; the Transportation Research Center, a former Honda test track in East Liberty, Ohio; and some comparable locations in Northern California.
Development of automated and connected vehicles is accelerating and bringing together major players from the traditional auto industry and Silicon Valley. Google, Tesla Motors and Apple, as well as dozens of software and navigation technology firms are competing to attract expertise and capital investment.
The American Center for Mobility is separate from and much larger than Mcity, a 32-acre simulated village and test track on the University of Michigan's north campus. Mcity, which opened a year ago, cost about $10 million to create and was funded by the university, the Michigan Department of Transportation and a host of companies.
