Detroit reveals clean freight competition winners
Toyota Mobility Foundation gives $1.5m scale-up fund to firms for Eastern Market challenge
The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and City of Detroit, Michigan, have announced three winners of TMF's three-year Sustainable Cities Challenge (SCC) in the city.
The firms – Civilized Cycles, ElectricFish Energy and Neology – were tasked with demonstrating freight solutions in the US city's Eastern Market food hub which reduced fossil fuel use, lowered freight costs, and supported clean, efficient movement of goods.
Next month, Detroit is host city for the ITS America 2026 Conference & Expo, which takes place 9-12 June at Huntington Place Exhibit Hall.
Each winner of the TMF Eastern Market competition has already received $180,000 in implementation funding and will now share $1.5 million to scale their solutions across the city.
"For over a hundred years, Eastern Market has been a place where businesses have adapted and grown to keep Detroit fed," explains Katy Trudeau, president and CEO of Eastern Market.
"This Challenge builds on that legacy by bringing fresh ideas and innovations into a real-world working environment, created with the needs of the people and businesses who are here every day in mind."
"These solutions don't just point to what is possible; they are already helping us move toward a cleaner, more efficient freight system that supports our community and can serve as a model for others."
Civilized Cycles is a Detroit-based manufacturer of ultra-light electric cargo vehicles. It will scale its patented Semi-Trike as a practical alternative to gas-powered delivery vans.
ElectricFish Energy, a specialist in fast-charging electric vehicle solutions, has launched 400squared, a 400 kW battery-integrated fast charger and introduced its Turbo Charge programme to enable deployment at gas stations and fleet sites.
Clean technology start-up Neology develops power systems that can produce hydrogen and electricity independently – useful where clean, off-grid power is necessary.
The firm has conducted more than 10 live demonstrations across Detroit, generating approximately 300 kWh of clean energy to illustrate the opportunities for validation of transportation concepts which SCC offers.
Civilized co-founder and CEO Zachary Schieffelin says SCC allowed it to "prove that ultra-light electric freight vehicles can meet commercial demand".
"Detroit offered an ideal opportunity to test and demonstrate their potential in a real-world commercial environment."
For Anurag Kamal, co-founder and CEO of ElectricFish, Detroit could "serve as a blueprint for the future of industrial growth and reducing carbon emissions at scale".
And Aris Maroonian, founder and CEO of Neology, adds: "We believe scalable, affordable hydrogen solutions will play a critical role in the future of mobility."
"Big ideas in clean freight technology have found their home in Detroit," says Detroit mayor Mary Sheffield.
"This means cleaner air and a brighter future for residents. We are grateful to the Toyota Mobility Foundation for choosing Detroit out of more than 150 cities across the globe. Our residents gain cleaner air, innovators gain a city serious about sustainability, and together we embody Detroit's legacy of innovation."
Ryan Michael, City of Detroit's deputy chief of business innovation and emerging industries, says: "Globally, the need for advancement in clean freight technology is abundantly clear. Detroit values the opportunity to partner with TMF and the State of Michigan OFME on this vital emerging vertical.
Vince Keenan, head of engagement Innovation, City of Detroit's Office of Mobility Innovation, concludes: "The Mayor's Office of Mobility Innovation is designed to push big ideas. Whether it's zero-emission microfreight solutions that can zip through traffic to avoid (and prevent) congestion, fleet charging solutions that can deploy the capacity to charge in the same time it takes to fill up with diesel and a peek around the corner to the hydrogen solutions that could one day eliminate emissions entirely."
"The Sustainable Cities Challenge has enabled Detroit to kick the tyres on the future of clean freight today."
Detroit is one of three global cities participating in the SCC, along with Venice, Italy and Varanasi, India, and TMF is investing a combined $9m to develop projects.
"Whether here in Detroit or around the world, the Toyota Mobility Foundation will continue to promote pragmatic solutions to make communities more sustainable, efficient, and functional," says Ryan Klem, TMF director of programs.
The Sustainable Cities Challenge is funded by the Toyota Mobility Foundation and conducted in collaboration with Challenge Works and the World Resources Institute.
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