Sesame Solar Selected for Michigan’s “Make It in Michigan” Grant Program
Sesame Solar has been selected as one of 26 companies receiving support through the third round of Michigan’s “Make It in Michigan” Mobility Prototyping Grant Program, which is providing a combined $2 million to companies working across advanced mobility, defense, aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
For Sesame Solar, the award will support the establishment of an in-house hydrogen testing and development lab at our manufacturing facility in Jackson, Michigan. The new lab will expand our ability to test, evaluate and refine hydrogen technologies used in our mobile power systems.
The program is led by the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) in partnership with the Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University. Since launching, the program has received more than 400 applications and awarded more than $5 million to 69 companies.
Expanding Hydrogen Testing in Michigan
Bringing hydrogen testing capabilities in-house will allow Sesame Solar’s engineering and manufacturing teams to work more closely together as new technologies are developed and improved.
Hydrogen is one of the technologies Sesame Solar is using to advance resilient, self-generating mobile power. Our Mobile Nanogrids are designed for applications including emergency response, disaster recovery, communications, defense operations and other critical missions where traditional power infrastructure may be unavailable or unreliable.
The new lab will support continued testing and development as Sesame Solar works to improve the performance, reliability and flexibility of these systems.
Supporting Michigan Manufacturing
The Make It in Michigan program is focused on helping companies move technologies from prototypes toward manufacturing and commercialization while strengthening domestic supply chains.
This year’s funded projects include autonomous aircraft and ground vehicles, drone components, battery technologies, hydrogen systems, advanced electronics and mobile power generation. Sesame Solar’s project is part of the program’s Battery Innovation category.
Battery Innovation
- Celadyne Technologies (Chicago, IL) – Design, build and demonstrate a Michigan-assembled hydrogen-production system for mobile and distributed-energy applications.
- Great Lakes Crystal Technologies Inc. (East Lansing, MI) – Advance diamond-based electronics to improve high-voltage power management in advanced-mobility applications.
- Great Lakes Sound & Vibration (GLSV) Incorporated (Houghton, MI) – Develop a smaller, lighter mobile power generator for military and field applications.
- Nascent Materials (Newark, NJ) – Scale U.S. production of a key lithium-ion battery material and validate it in a domestically sourced battery cell with a Michigan partner.
- Sesame Solar (Jackson, MI) – Establish an in-house hydrogen testing and development lab at its Michigan manufacturing facility to support mobile power systems.
- SBR Tech (Reed City, MI) – Develop and test a vehicle-mounted system that generates reliable electrical power without requiring a separate generator.
- Marel Power Systems (Plymouth, MI) – Develop a compact power system designed to support small, mobile data centers.
For Sesame Solar, the award also supports continued investment in our Jackson manufacturing operation and Michigan’s growing advanced energy and manufacturing ecosystem.
As demand grows for resilient mobile power across emergency management, defense and other critical applications, Sesame Solar will continue developing solutions designed to deliver reliable power where and when it is needed.
Read the full announcement from the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification →
