Automation Alley says Project Diamond expanding; awarded $3 million DoD contract

Troy City Local Development Finance Authority members heard an update Tuesday on Automation Alley and SmartZone activity, including progress on Project Diamond, an expanding distributed-manufacturing network and a $3,000,000 Department of Defense contract to demonstrate military parts production on that network.

The update came during the LDFA’s regular meeting when Tom Kelly, executive director of Automation Alley, described services meant to help international firms enter the U.S., and outlined the Project Diamond expansion. "We were just awarded a $3,000,000 Department of Defense contract, not a grant," Kelly said. "This is a contract to demonstrate the safe production distributed production of army components." He added that Wayne County will add 250 manufacturers to the network, bringing the total expected connected manufacturers to about 800 across participating counties.

The report said Project Diamond has surpassed 500 manufacturers with printers on the network between Oakland and Macomb counties and that the network has completed more than 51,000 print jobs since inception. Kelly framed the effort as building surge capacity for distributed manufacturing and noted interest from European firms seeking U.S. presence.

Rochelle Freeman, staff liaison for the SmartZone work, outlined regional accelerator activity and redevelopment in nearby communities. Freeman highlighted Centropolis, an accelerator on the Lawrence Technological University campus, and described new tenants and proposed projects that could bring research-and-development and residential conversions to underused properties. She said one purchaser plans to convert parts of the former Blue Cross Blue Shield campus into about 305 apartments and that a proposed data center project was expected to appear before a city council the same evening.

Mark Adams, secretary and treasurer for the LDFA, described the SmartZone footprint in Troy and noted some vacancy among longtime industrial tenants. "It's a 75-acre parcel," Adams said of the SmartZone area, adding that Automation Alley continues to operate as a soft-landing resource for technology firms and international trade missions.

Multiple speakers raised electric-service and capacity limits as a barrier to adaptive reuse and new projects. Ellen Hodrick, a Troy-area councilwoman, and other members described cases where lines were de-energized after buildings were vacated and where securing new service or transformers added millions in capital costs to redevelopment. One speaker noted Michigan’s retail electricity price is high relative to other Midwestern states; participants said that combination of price and capacity constraints can deter projects.

Speakers described several advantages of Project Diamond and distributed additive manufacturing, including the ability to push digital build files to remote machines while limiting intellectual-property exposure. Kelly and others said Project Diamond began with COVID-era funds to produce PPE and has attracted follow-on investment and federal attention.

The LDFA meeting also included routine business and scheduling; a related subcommittee met after the main session to review additional SmartZone items.

The LDFA did not take formal action on the Project Diamond work at the meeting; the update was informational. Several members said they will continue to press external stakeholders about electrical service barriers that affect redevelopment and SmartZone goals.