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Grayson Brulte:
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Hello, I'm your host, Grayson Brulte. Welcome to another episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, a show about emerging technology and trends and mobility with leaders and innovators who make it all happen.
On today's episode, we're absolutely honored to be joined by Justine Johnson, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Dana Lowell, Lilypad Labs.
On today's episode, we'll discuss solar powered boats and Michigan's vision for the emerging blue economy. We hope you enjoy this episode. Dana, Justine, welcome to the podcast.
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Dana Lowell:
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Thank you. Great to be here.
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Justine Johnson:
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Thank you for having us.
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Grayson Brulte:
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It's great to have you here. With 22 percent of the, sorry, 20 percent of the world's freshwater, Michigan is going to play a large role in the future of mobility and mobility is not just scooters, cars, planes, trains, automobiles. It's Maritime as well. Justine, what does the Michigan Future Mobility Plan look like?
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Justine Johnson:
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So thank you so much for that question and really happy to be here to talk about the MI Future Mobility Plan. But first, before I do that, I'd love to ground us in a definition of what is mobility. And for us, we really focus on mobility by utilizing clean energy to move people, goods, and information across land, water, and air. So that's how we embody and embrace mobility as an office. The office of future mobility and electrification is the first of its kind in the United States with really that goal of ensuring that we provide safe, affordable, and clean transportation options for all Michiganders.
So that is really the forefront of our work as we do that, as mentioned before, really the maritime space is another very. key industry as part of developing and really strengthening our mobility ecosystem. We know that there are a number of different players in this space today, but we really, first wanted to think about how could we provide access to more users of our waterways to really experience clean vessels and as well as clean marinas.
And What we did was announce something last year called the Fresh Coast Maritime Challenge. And something that's really unique about the challenge is that it really was intentionally designed to really think about providing access to the charging facilities, providing access to clean fuel, maritime vessels, and really allowing people to enjoy the recreational waterways.
And so that was really our primary focus, but really it's about reducing carbon emissions at the end of the day. We know that the transportation sector contributes about 30, it's bad. 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector in the state of Michigan, and we're really focusing on our broader goals around decarbonization, and as well as electrifying watercraft around the state. So that's something that's really important to us.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Why did Michigan decide to take a leadership position on maritime when there's other states either on lakes. waterways or on oceans that haven't really taken that leadership position. Why did Michigan decide to take that leadership position on maritime?
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Justine Johnson:
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I think going back to your original statement which was like 20 percent of the world's freshwater can be found within the state of Michigan. And so I think that's one piece where we have to acknowledge that we have an abundance of water here. We have a great number of partners as it relates to academia.
We are the heritage of manufacturing and you think about American manufacturing. You can't have that conversation without having a dialogue or discussion about Michigan. We also know from an economic development perspective that, Michigan does rank, but I think it's probably fourth in the nation at this moment in terms of one of the highest economic activity for recreational boating.
And so that means there's an opportunity, especially around job growth. That means there's an opportunity around economic impacts to support this industry. So we really want to make sure that we are competing. We want to make sure that we're supporting recreational boaters along the way, but we also have to think very Thoughtfully about the jobs that will be created that will be created to support this industry.
So that's one of the important things. And I will just share like a fun fact is that, more than 12 million registered boaters in the United States are owners of recreational boats. And so many of the folks that who are utilizing Recreational boats in the United States have small boats, and they're utilizing these on a regular basis in the waterways.
And so we want to make sure that we're providing an opportunity and really transportation options for those in the state who are utilizing vessels, but also for those on the commercial side who are handling tons of cargo that are going back and forth around the state of Michigan and going to other places as well.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Dana, that's a lot of recreational boats, sir, and that's a very big market for you to dive into. Lilypad Labs, you're working with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Talk about that partnership, please.
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Dana Lowell:
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Yeah, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation has been great to work with. We've been partnering with them for over two years.
They initially provided a deployment grant, which helped us finish out our first year first boat, and we launched that at the end of season in Saugatuck, Michigan, and it was really more of A beta trial to just see how the boat worked and what people's reactions were to it. So we did that in the fall of 2022.
And in 2023 they came out with the fresh Coast Challenge and we applied for that grant and were awarded it. And we placed deployed two boats up in Lake Leelanau in northern Michigan. And those we used in a rental application at the Fountain Point Resort and got great success with it.
And from there, we also raised money with the Michigan's RISE, which is the seed fund that is partially affiliated with the MEDC. And we use that money to further refine our operations, build more boats and deploy them at four locations across Michigan this season.
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Grayson Brulte:
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You're building solar power boats. When I heard about this, I said, okay, this is cool. But besides it being cool, why did you decide to build solar power boats?
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Dana Lowell:
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I think the solar power has a couple of benefits. One, it eliminates the need for fuels. Obviously, it's carbon free. And then it's also very simple and easy to operate.
There's very little moving parts. It takes away a lot of the drawbacks of boat ownership. In terms of, the fossil fueling footprint that it has the difficulty in operation that is intimidating to a lot of people that are not boat owners. And so that was 1 of the primary drivers on it.
And then as a technology platform, solar, is decreasing in cost and improving in efficiency. So it's a platform with a lot of headroom in terms of really where it's going. And we think there's a lot of potential in terms of what else we can do with it beyond the Lilypad's current configuration.
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Grayson Brulte:
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How hard is it for a recreational boater to learn to captain? And do they have to get a Coast Guard certification or a captain's license in order to operate your vessel?
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Dana Lowell:
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No, you don't need any certification or license to operate the vessel. And really it's. It's a 30 second lesson and we will have you piloting LilyPad with ease and be able to put it in any dock location and pilot it around any waterway that we're on.
Simple to operate, we're basically got a joystick control then if you've got the capability of operating a mouse, you can operate a LilyPad.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Here's the most important question for a large subset of our audience. Can you fish off your boat? Can they take it out in the lake and go fishing off of it?
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Dana Lowell:
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Absolutely. It's a very stable platform. It's got a big wide area that you can cast in any direction that you want. It's got, it's basically the design theme on Lilypad was a cafe table on water. What we really wanted to do was take the cafe table that you may find in your local favorite coffee shop and move that into a water setting.
And it's really all about social experience. We the beauty of solar and EV is it's silent. So imagine putting around the lake at five miles an hour and there's absolutely zero noise. The only noise you hear is the boat. Quietly moving through the water and you have a quiet conversation with whoever you're on the boat with.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Justine, that's a beautiful environment. You're on a pristine Lake in the state of Michigan. That's a beautiful environment. I have all these weird noises and gosh forbid you got a giant kitty and the motor breaks. We you avoid that with the Lilypads. And then from an environmental standpoint, it's carbon free. What role is decarbonizing recreational boating playing in Michigan's vision for the future of mobility?
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Justine Johnson:
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Yeah I'd say, our first and foremost goal here is, again, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. We continue to lead with that and that is really most important to the work that we do.
But, as we think about electrification of recreational boats, we also see this potential opportunity leapfrogging into commercial boating in particular. And really exploring alternatives, such as hydrogen or hybrids that could really help to power some of these vessels, especially when we talk about commercial boating applications as well.
So that's another area that we're really focused on. I will say that we last year were awarded the mock 2 or the hydrogen hubs announcement that came out from the federal government. And really, this does allow us to have a conversation around. What are some of the applications in the transportation sector as it relates to use cases around hydrogen?
And this could be around. How could we talk about alternative fuel sourcing in addition to electrification? But where might the role of hydrogen play into this conversation? How might hybrids? Be used as well. So we do see decarbonization being very important. And also for anyone who is listening, there is a new RFP that is out right now.
So I would highly encourage anyone who is interested in an RFP specifically in building out a system. statewide maritime strategy. This RFP is it's led by the office of feature mobility and electrification environment, great lakes and energy and department of transportation. And really it's about building a strategy that will advance green and clean transportation options.
It's around decarbonization as well, especially as we talk about recreational boating, but also commercial it's focused on really building out equity and environmental. justice access for communities, the infrastructure and really making sure that we have an efficient movement of people and goods throughout our waterways.
So I would highly encourage anyone who is looking to be a part of this process and really to share some of their ideas about what the state maritime strategy should look like. Highly encourage them to apply to the RFP.
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Grayson Brulte:
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And where can they go to apply? Is there an address that they can go to?
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Justine Johnson:
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Yes, there is. So essentially they will go to EGLE, which is the Environment Great Lakes Energy website. And once they're there, if you just type in statewide maritime strategy, you can find information there. I will also make sure to have it on my LinkedIn. If anyone follows me on LinkedIn, I'll just give you access to the link as well.
That might be a lot easier than me reading through this long URL link, but essentially it's on Environment Great Lakes Energy's website and it's The Michigan Maritime Strategy. So please check that out. And the application is due July 25th. So you do have some time but really want to encourage you to be a part of Michigan's mobility strategy and future.
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Grayson Brulte:
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A simple Google search I'll say or follow Justine on LinkedIn and you can do the simple thing and click the link.
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Justine Johnson:
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Either way, follow me on LinkedIn, Justine Johnson, I'm pretty easy to find, or you can type in Michigan mobile, Michigan maritime strategy, and you'll be able to get access to the link. So either one will be helpful. But again, this is all about really focusing on really having a project and really a strategy that's going to help the state of Michigan really lead and propel our future, especially when we talk about maritime activations.
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Grayson Brulte:
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When you look at maritime activations. I know it's apples and oranges, but you're going to have the infrastructure. How do you ensure that the infrastructure is upgradable over time as technologies is changing. You don't make those mistakes that are being made on the vehicle side today that you have adaptability.
I'll use the kids term Legos. You could just put on a new Lego block and away it goes. How do you prepare for that?
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Justine Johnson:
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I think there is a lot of lessons that can be learned, especially as we think about electric vehicle infrastructure. But also one of the key lessons that I think we're also seeing is having fuel inclusivity.
And when I say fuel inclusivity around zero emissions and clean energy sources is going to be something that's important. So I will say when we think about infrastructure, we think about something that's interoperable and as well as infrastructure that is easily accessible on the land side and as well as on the maritime side.
And so we want to make sure that anyone who visits a marina. Ideally would be utilizing some type of zero emissions vehicle to get there. They'll be able to have a seamless experience between charging their vessel or their vehicle and vice versa going in between both modes. So it's really about providing those seamless experiences and really again, making sure that we think about things like payments, right?
And so how do you think about payments for your charging infrastructure? Were some of those lessons learned so that you can have improved user experiences, but also, again, Having an experience that allows for all operators to, regardless of whether they're using a recreational vessel to using a commercial vessel, understanding what some of those needs are, and really thinking about how we configure the infrastructure so that everyone can get access to it and everyone can be able to charge their vessels accordingly. So we think about all of those pieces. And again, being that it's our first cohort that we've had as part of our Fresh Coast Maritime Challenge, I think we're going to learn a lot and get a lot of information from the number of different companies that are part of that cohort one.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Dana, what type of infrastructure, if any, do you need to LilyPad vessel?
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Dana Lowell:
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LilyPad doesn't require any plug in or any infrastructure. Every dock can be a home for a Lily pad. So we purposefully, we eat photons. Basically we're using solar panels that take the photons that converted into electrical current that drives our two motors, and we have batteries on board that are By the way, remanufactured LFP batteries that we recover from the automotive industry.
And those provide two hours of backup power in case of, early morning or late evening operation. But we require no, no power. And matter of fact, in two years, we've never required any plug into the batteries to even recharge them. We basically use the spare power that we're generating off the panels to charge the batteries up.
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Grayson Brulte:
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That's scalable. Yeah. There's no other way to describe it. It's scalable and it's easy. If they want to go to this lake, to that lake, it's not Oh, I have to call Mr. Infrastructure up. Yeah. You're able just to drop and deploy essentially.
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Dana Lowell:
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Exactly. Yeah. No, that's one of the beauties of the Lilypad platform is that it requires really nothing to be set up and being carbon free with your boat.
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Grayson Brulte:
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What was the inspiration behind it? Did you have an epiphany moment one day or did you just see a big opportunity to reinvent boating essentially?
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Dana Lowell:
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Absolutely. My, my co founder, Jim, was a frustrated sailor. He loved the beauty of carbon free sailing and the quietness and the peacefulness of it.
But man, is it painful to sail and it's so weather dependent. And I think, what's happened over time is the solar technology has matured. It's become lower cost. It's become more efficient, which allows for better packaging and it will continue to, and it's really enabled this opportunity that we've seen with And our season right now with lily pad.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Michigan season, you get a thing I think it makes you go burst snow. So you don't want to boat in the snow. How do you see lily pad and the whole solar boat market expanding outside of Michigan? Is this become an export company that Michigan's exporting to the rest of the country, eventually to the rest of the world?
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Dana Lowell:
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Absolutely. For us, we were all ex global warriors in the automotive industry, primarily, and we were really committed to doing something in Michigan.
We knew the talent, the skills, the capability was here. So we're really focused on having as much of our supply base as possible. possible here in Michigan, with the plans to really export it out to other parts of the U. S., North America, and ultimately the world.
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Grayson Brulte:
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That's a wonderful thing. And you're part of the Fresh Coast Maritime Grant Challenge, which is really interesting.
Justine, Lilypad Labs is one of six companies chosen, so you've got a cohort, or if you want to use the term, a class of companies. How did you pick and what is the Michigan Economic Development Corporation hoping to achieve with the program? And will it potentially be more classes in the future?
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Justine Johnson:
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Sure. One of the things that I'll start with is that, we had a competitive application process. So we had a number of companies that submitted proposals for this particular funding. And so it was great to see just a number of companies from all over the United States, and as well as the world who were eager and willing to be a part of Michigan's maritime mobility future.
And so I will say, as part of that process each applicant was scored based on their feasibility, based on technology readiness and making sure that the technology was actually ready to debut. deployed in the real world today, but also what some of their growth plans were in the state of Michigan.
So we looked at all of those parts and features and really made sure that we were very thoughtful about selecting cohort one, which again, that six companies who were part of that inaugural cohort, who are really. actively supporting the growth of the maritime sector and as well as the maritime space within the state of Michigan.
So those were some of the areas that we were really attracted to seeing. But also we wanted to make sure that not only are we focusing only on technology, but really thinking about the people too. And who would be some of those users who would get an opportunity to experience a ride in an electric vessel and in a ride where, essentially you have a very different experience.
Experience, you're able to talk to friends on the water versus hearing this loud motor that's propelling behind you, right? And so you think about all of those functions, and we really wanted to make sure that any Michigander who wanted to experience an electric vessel could, and any Michigander who again is visiting.
Different parts of the state can really see the infrastructure that is being invested along the shoreline to really support this activity. So that was the process in which we went through looking at a number of different applicants.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Dana, how did Lilypad Labs prepare for this? Did you build a business plan? Did you refine the technology, ramp up manufacturing? How did you prepare?
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Dana Lowell:
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Really all of the above. We had to put the, we need to have a business plan. We needed to have a deployment location that, which involves, us participating with stakeholders that are in that community.
You, we need to obviously build the boat and deploy the boat. So we really needed to do all the above. You gotta have the business plan to understand if the revenue models going to work. And, cost versus profitability. And what's the charging in terms of what you need to charge to the customer.
In our model on the fresh coast challenge, we were working through a livery, which is secondary agency that would deliver the services to the consumer At the resort we were located. It's a lot of planning and it's a lot of, it's a lot of execution getting things done.
And, and the beauty about being a startup is, we roll up our sleeves and we go out and do it. There isn't time for, bureaucracy and, lots of meetings to theorize about things. We've got to go out and do it and make it happen. And we did. We went out and we made it happen.
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Grayson Brulte:
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From a community standpoint, there's a lot of lake communities throughout the state of Michigan. If you bring one of your vessels for a weekend to introduce to the community, to show them how it works, or how do you start to get the community involvement and build awareness for what you're building in the state?
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Dana Lowell:
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We meet with local stakeholders. I, tomorrow I got a meeting in Saugatuck and we're talking to Saugatuck Brewery about making them be the official beer of a Lilypad on in Saugatuck, which I think is a good fit for both of us, but it's really just meeting with who, the different players in the community and getting, And make them have ownership and have us have an understanding of what people like to do in that market, what events should we participate in, because every community has got a different activity going on last this past week and Traverse City was the cherry festival and the Blue Angels and we had a boat go out in the harbor to see the Blue Angels and Elk Rapids were participated in a couple of events up there.
We're going back up. in another couple of weeks to do the Traverse Bay Yacht Club and do a kind of a show and tell with that with Traverse Connect and Elk Rapids. We've got a meeting at Elk Rapids to do another show and tell with people in the Elk Rapids community. We've got the Venetian Festival that we're going to be doing in Saugatuck.
Just find events that, the community is bought into and go out and do it and, just become part of the community. of the community that, that was an important part of what we wanted to do as a corporation. We wanted to be, we wanted to have a environmental standing, a community based standing, an access standing, and obviously we needed to make money because, we won't survive if we don't, but we wanted to be able to lever All of those things equally, and they were all equally important to us as a founding team.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Will you operate the business or will you find local partners in the communities where they'll buy X amount of boats from you and they'll put them out in their community or how's that going to operate?
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Dana Lowell:
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We're doing both. Three of the locations I'm partnered with Elk Rapids Marina, which is the premier EV marina in the Great Lakes, for sure, possibly in the U. S., and they manage Elk Rapids location and the Traverse City downtown location. We're partnered with Gull Lake Marine, which is a multi location mariner down in South Haven, and they operate the boat down there. In Saugatuck, we actually operate the boat because it's in our backyard, and we wanted to get that more consumer Direct feel so we could learn more and, really understand the dynamics at the Marina side as they deal with renting the boat.
So we're doing both but the primary business model will ultimately be, I think doing the Marina partnership model, just because they have the expertise to leverage the staff and everything that makes scalability much easier.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Justine, the common denominator of on the various programs, he doesn't operate his jobs, Lilypad's going to create jobs in the state cause you need individuals to help individuals to train them to operate the boats and it's part of Marina Perhaps they hire one individual two individuals who start Creating a lot of jobs there. And it goes back to your core economic development. So Lily pad's going to help you do your job with economic development. Overall, what type of jobs do you see being created from the fresh coast maritime challenge?
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Justine Johnson:
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I really think the jobs that are going to come out of a lot of this work will be in spaces like applied sciences, specifically in marine and maritime technology. So I think that's going to be one piece that's going to be important. I would say maintenance. Repair and operations will be another important aspect of this, not only just of maintenance and repair and operations of vessels, but also the infrastructure, charging infrastructure for the vessel, for the vessels as well.
And I probably would say, lots of research and development that will be coming out of this in the longterm. So really I think about jobs around software development, I think about hardware development, I think of all of these different pieces that are going to be essential to this particular industry.
Especially as we talk about how the industry is utilizing technology and innovation to really decarbonize and really meet the state's goals around carbon neutrality. So I would say it's all of those parts and pieces that will be really essential to really seeing the future of the maritime sector and as well as the maritime ecosystem in the state of Michigan.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Dana, Michigan? Thank you, Tim. Long history of innovation around mobility. It's the home of the automobile, Mr. Ford every, we can go down the line of every major innovator in the automobiles that came out of Michigan. Overall, how do you think about the future of mobility?
You have background in the automobile side, you're near and now in the maritime center. How do you think about the future mobility today?
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Justine Johnson:
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I'll just jump in really quickly. And I think about the future of mobility within the state of Michigan is something that I think we have to continue to lean into our strength and our automotive heritage in particular, as it relates to manufacturing, because I think that's where we're a state of makers.
And so I think as we continue to make that. things that is going to be really important of thinking about the new form factors of the future. Today it might be an electric vessel, a solar powered vessel, but you don't know what the future might hold with new technology that continues to evolve along the way.
So I'd say those are, parts and pieces. I would love to say as part of this mobility ecosystem, it's really about Attracting new companies to come here to test it, to deploy it, to see what how it works and to see how users experience it as well. I think that's another important part of it.
And as I think about, the future of mobility, I think it is about really providing a space where everyone gets to be a part of this journey around this. Electric mobility revolution, regardless of your income, regardless of where you live, you're still able to experience and have, again, seamless experiences, whether that's connecting you from your vehicle today to connecting you to a marina and in the future, really thinking about All things that move in the air, all of these parts and pieces working together collectively about providing access to people, again, moving our goods more effectively throughout the region.
And as well as thinking about the information and lots of data that's generated over time. So I think it's all of these pieces working together to ensure that we're leading in the future and leading of today, especially around the maritime sector, but also the broader mobility ecosystem.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Dana, your thoughts, please?
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Dana Lowell:
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I. I sticked it. Our thoughts and, why we started Lilypad is we think, there's a tremendous part of the population that doesn't have access to water, despite all the water that's here. So we wanted to make boating simpler and more accessible to everybody. And, the uberfication of boating so that, anybody that wanted to have some relaxation, dial us up and on their app and go out and spend time on the water.
The other part is, our viewpoint is blue economy, with all this water here, fresh water being the most, really the most valuable asset in the world. There's a tremendous opportunity to really bring new technology and innovation to water. And one part of it is mobility. And what our thrust was really is to provide carbon free boating accessible to all on Michigan's waterways. And, we're in four locations now. We'll be in many more locations next year. And, we want to really become, their cafe table on water in your local community.
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Grayson Brulte:
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That's, I like that. Boating simplified. Dana, do you see more companies in Michigan looking to focus on clean boating as a, as an opportunity, do you think, in the future?
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Dana Lowell:
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I think it's a nascent opportunity and it's emerging and I think that Michigan's got an opportunity to lead in it. I think there's other, parts of the world that are also looking at electrification and boating. I think it's really important that the Michigan doubles down on the blue economy and really, Attracting startups and helping the startups that are here to really develop their product, their technology, their offering, determine product market fit and deploying scale.
I think it's really, there's a great opportunity right now to make it happen because it is the technology is getting developed and scaled in automotive and it's transferable to boating applications.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Justine, long heritage of innovation, long heritage of great products, world class manufacturing. What's next for Michigan as it relates to mobility?
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Justine Johnson:
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I'd say a part of the what's next is making sure that we are continuing again to, attract new companies, technologies to not only pilot new programs and technologies here, but how do you scale it? I always say it's important for us to get from the cradle to commercialization, and especially for companies that are looking to find a home, especially as it relates to the pandemic.
To mobility, innovation and technology deployments. I'd say that's one piece that's important. I'd say, as we talk about the future of mobility at the end of the day, this is about making sure that we are effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions so that we're actually able to breathe clean air.
And so I think that is another continued commitment, especially as we think about the present and as well as the future, we have to think about the jobs, right? And so making sure that people are trained and ready and prepared for the jobs of the future when it comes to mobility, innovation, and really making sure that people who are from K through 12 to people who are transitioning in jobs who are coming out of colleges and universities, and even people who are transitioning in their careers that they know that there are opportunities available in the state of Michigan.
So that they can actually grow their future. They can thrive. And so this is what's really important in making sure that we center this work, not only on the technology, but on the people who will be critical to making sure that these industries are grow, that are growing in and really building their roots here.
So we really want to continue to see all of those pieces happen. And that's really the focus of our work is that we cannot lose sight of the people who are Going to be behind the scenes in many ways of making it all possible and making it all happen and those who are in front, right? And so we have to be very thoughtful of all of those pieces and making sure our workforce and talent is ready to go for a lot of these activations.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Lilypad's a great example. Businesses can grow in Michigan. Businesses can become a big business. And Michigan's look at Ford and GM, for example. Justine, Dan, this has been a fascinating conversation that I can't wait to see Lilypad scales. Next thing we're going to have you on, we've got a thousand of these boats across the lakes of michigan.
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Dana Lowell:
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I like where you're going.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Everybody does the ocean, I'm sorry, the lakes do the state does the residents and visitors to Michigan like it as well. As we look to wrap up this insightful conversation, what would you like our listeners take away with them? Dana, we'll start with you today, please.
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Dana Lowell:
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Lilypad would be happy to host you in Traverse City, Elk Rapids, Saugatuck, and South Haven. And we're open and go on our website and reserve your boat today. We're, we'll be glad to host you and put you on a boat and experience what the future of boating is.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Reserve your boat today. See there we go. Dana, where can they go to reserve their boat? They go to lilypads. com. Where do they go to reserve their boat?
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Dana Lowell:
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Yep. Lilypad labs. com is an easy way to get to any of the locations, but you can also check Elk Rapids Marina or Gull Lake Marina. And both of those have rental capabilities there too.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Check it out, visit Michigan, experience the future of recreational boating. Justine, what would you like our listeners to take away with them today?
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Justine Johnson:
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I'd say first and foremost, one, our state is very committed to growing the mobility ecosystem and making sure that it is dynamic for again, companies and as well as People to really grow and to thrive here.
So that's something that I just want to make sure, folks take that away. I'd also say, we are continuing to invest in not only just the future of the maritime space, but also positioning Michigan as a global leader, especially when we talk about manufacturing and really making sure that we have strong partnerships across the state to really activate and really see the future of marine and maritime innovation happen here. So this is really about innovation, but this is also innovation in light of preserving and as well as conservation of our fresh waterways and really making sure that our Great Lakes continue to be this pristine space where people can come and visit and residents can enjoy this water, these waterways, but also making sure that we are positioning ourself as a leader.
Nationally and as well as internationally in investing into blue tech innovation. And again, getting folks from the cradle to commercialization. So that's something that's really important.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Innovation is built in Michigan. Lilypads building in Michigan, auto manufacturing is built in Michigan.
Innovation is built in Michigan. Today's tomorrow. Tomorrow's today. The future is clean boating. Dana Justine, thank you so much for coming on SAE tomorrow today.
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Justine Johnson:
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Thank you very much. so much for having us.
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Grayson Brulte:
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Thank you for listening to us to eat tomorrow. Today, if you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please kindly rate review and let us know what topics you'd like for us to explore.
Next, be sure to join us next week as we discuss the future of autonomous and electrified trucking. SAE International makes no representations as to the accuracy of the information presented in this podcast. The information and opinions are for general information only. SAE International does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast.
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