the grid to ensure that a charging station,
or two or three charging stations, are able
to function in areas where maybe they
wouldn’t otherwise,
” he explained.
Pawl said the state is looking into Israeli
solutions for maritime mobility for recre-
ation and industry as well, given that trans-
portation on the Great Lakes is important to
Michigan’s economy.
MICHIGAN ISRAEL
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR
Pawl emphasized that Michigan is seeking
Israeli innovation in a variety of verticals,
such as security, consumer goods and water
and agricultural technologies, that generate
local jobs.
The Michigan Israel Business
Accelerator organizes trade missions a
couple of times a year to facilitate matches
between Michigan’s needs and Israel’s
capabilities.
“Obviously, I only get involved in the
transportation [and] mobility side of it,
”
Pawl said, “and it was important that we
brought some of the Michigan Department
of Transportation lead consultants on inno-
vative projects — whether for bridges or
for the future of automated payments — to
EcoMotion to see what was going on in real
time, with a clear focus on the market.
”
The accelerator, he continued, “has boots
on the ground in Israel, allowing us to have
a presence at cool events such as EcoMotion,
and making sure that we’re meeting with
high-level officials, going into the command
centers for certain highways, and meeting
with people who are trying to solve the
micro-mobility congestion issue in cities.
”
Looking at the direction in which the
automotive industry and smart cities are
moving, Pawl said, “There’s more synergy
than you would immediately think. You
can’t afford not to be having a constant dia-
logue with leaders in Israel’s public sector
and private sector.
”
MOBILITY AND SMART CITIES
Among the Israeli technologies piquing
interest are data-driven digitized
garbage collection from GreenQ,
road noise cancellation technology
from Silentium, and AlgoShield, a real-
time early-warning lithium battery hazard
detection and explosion-prevention
solution.
“We’re getting a lot of questions from
cities like, ‘OK, if we’re going to be
aggressively rolling out charging stations
and electric vehicles on the road — General
Motors is flipping over to all electric by 2035
— how are we going to handle the worst
cases, such as battery fires? How do we
prepare for the future?’ Aside from making
sure firefighters have the right technology
and knowledge to work with a battery fire,
the vehicle is going to have to take a major
leap forward,
” Pawl said.
“If you’re focused on trying to make sure
that America not just leads the world in
producing technologies and vehicles, but
also that it’s simply one of the best places to
get around, I think Israel can help us find
the way,
” he added.
TESTING GROUND FOR
ISRAELI TECHNOLOGIES
In his speech at EcoMotion, Pawl said that
Michigan, which borders Canada, is a valu-
able testing site for Israeli businesses enter-
ing the North American market.
“We understand that there are other mar-
kets, like Silicon Valley, and places on the
East Coast that have venture capital markets,
but to really prove out your technology
you’re going to want to actually get it out in
communities,
” he said.
“You’re going to want world-class testing
sites at the earlier stage, and once you’re
past that point you’re going to want to work
with a government that’s willing to give you
access to their infrastructure and that has
regulatory policies where you can move at
the speed of the market and get permits
quickly.
“So, while you may kick the tires at an
automaker R&D lab in Silicon Valley, if
you want to end up on a North American
vehicle, you have to come through Detroit.
And if you want to build a fleet, you’re going
to have to access our supply chain,
” he said,
noting that Detroit houses the lion’s share of
U.S. automotive suppliers and automakers.
“This is paired with our commitment to,
for instance, the Electreon project, opening
up our infrastructure to help Electreon write
their playbook in North America.
”
Michigan also has North America’s first
smart parking lab and is constructing
America’s first signature EV route along
Lake Michigan. The U.S. and Canadian fed-
eral governments are seeking technologies to
build better border crossings, Pawl said.
In addition, Michigan is building a
40-mile autonomous vehicle lane between
Detroit and Ann Arbor, “which will be
essentially the road of the future and provide
hundreds of other opportunities for Israeli
companies to insert their technology.
”
This article was first published by Israel21c.
JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 43
PHOTO COURTESY OF ECOMOTION
PHOTO COURTESY OF ZOOZ.
Trevor Pawl, chief
mobility officer for the
State of Michigan.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHIGAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION