Michigan awards AM activation grants for drone maritime deliveries, medical drone trials and electric-aircraft charging

Zach Texan, of MDOT’s Office of Aeronautics’ airspace and emerging aviation unit, told a joint meeting of the Michigan Aeronautics Commission and the State Transportation Commission on Jan. 30 that the department and partners are using the AM activation fund to accelerate “advanced air mobility” projects around the state.

“Advanced Air Mobility, in my opinion, is really, I guess, a a major inflection point in aviation that we have going on right now,” Texan said, introducing a set of pilot projects the fund supports.

The projects described by Texan include:

- Skyport/Interlake Steamship test (Upper Peninsula): Skyport, a UK‑based drone operator, partnered with Interlake Steamship Company to test ship‑to‑shore drone deliveries in the Sault Ste. Marie and Detour Village area. Texan said the effort aims to transfer small items between anchored ships and shore operations without a vessel docking; operational flights were planned to begin in April and continue through the summer.

- Traverse Connect (Traverse City region): A three‑part program that includes (1) medical supply and blood/sample deliveries with Munson Healthcare and the Central Michigan Health Equity Institute to build supply‑chain resilience in rural areas; (2) infrastructure inspections and lake water sampling with Northwestern Michigan College and Michigan Tech; and (3) community demonstration days to show capabilities and build public acceptance.

- Michigan Central (Detroit, Michigan Central Station campus / AIR): Funding supports detect‑and‑avoid sensors and low‑altitude radar to enable some beyond‑visual‑line‑of‑sight (BVLOS) flights, an air operations center in the Michigan Central campus building, and two drone ports (a rooftop launch pad adjacent to a freight elevator and a larger ground launch/testing facility). Texan described use cases including autonomous parts deliveries from rooftop drone ports to basement manufacturing space on the campus.

- Beta Technologies electric‑aircraft chargers (four airports): Beta chargers are being installed at Cherry Capital Airport (Traverse City), Capital Region International Airport (Lansing), West Michigan Regional Airport (Holland) and Willow Run Airport (Ann Arbor area). Texan said the state grants connect Michigan to Beta’s charging network and position Michigan as a Midwest charging anchor; he showed Beta’s U.S. network map and an image of a short‑takeoff electric cargo aircraft in Beta’s fleet.

Grant totals and breakdowns: Texan said the AM activation fund awards for the four projects totaled about $4,900,000. He said Michigan Central and the Beta chargers were each “around $2,000,000,” with Traverse Connect and Skyport splitting the remaining funds at roughly $500,000 each. He also said MDOT and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation are finalizing remaining funds for another potential round; he estimated roughly $3–4 million might be available but said the figure was not final.

Why it matters: MDOT staff framed the projects as early pilots to test operational and regulatory questions for drones, BVLOS flights and electric aircraft charging. Texan noted these demonstrations are intended to show use cases (medical delivery, infrastructure inspection, maritime logistics and campus manufacturing feed) and to prepare the state for new aircraft types.

What’s next: Texan invited potential applicants to contact him about future rounds of the AM activation fund and said several projects will continue through spring and summer for further operational testing.

Ending: MDOT staff emphasized that the pilots are demonstrations intended to test operations and public acceptance rather than to signal immediate wide deployment; they said additional funding rounds could follow pending program evaluations and MEDC coordination.