The Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Sustainable Cities Challenge in Detroit is a three-year Challenge that brings together innovators, the City of Detroit, and partners to demonstrate clean freight solutions in the Eastern Market.
Across multiple challenge rounds, innovators have demonstrated their solutions through collaborative development, resulting in three winners who will share $1.5 million in implementation funding to scale their solutions across the city.
A Detroit-based manufacturer of ultra-light electric cargo vehicles, Civilized Cycles is scaling its patented Semi-Trike as a practical alternative to gas-powered delivery vans. Since the finalists were announced, the company has been exploring applications for its Semi-Trike, most recently selling one to Detroit-based company Grounded EVs, where it will be used as a platform to build a mini-RV.
A distributed energy infrastructure company advancing fast-charging EV solutions, ElectricFish recently launched 400squared™, a 400 kW battery-integrated fast charger and introduced its Turbo Charge program to enable seamless deployment at gas stations and fleet sites. Since being named a finalist, the company has been third-party endorsed by MotorTrend and received coverage in high-profile news outlets like Axios.
A clean technology startup developing power systems that can produce hydrogen and electricity independently, useful in applications where clean, off-grid power is necessary. Since being selected as a finalist, Neology has conducted more than ten live demonstrations across Detroit, generating approximately 300 kWh of clean energy – enough to power an average U.S. home for 10 days - and producing approximately 20 kilograms of hydrogen from ammonia, enough hydrogen to fill the tank of a hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai over three times. These demonstrations serve as an example of the opportunities for validation of transportation concepts offered by the Sustainable Cities Challenge.
Demonstrate solutions that reduce fossil fuel use and cut costs of freight operations in Eastern Market
Solutions addressed one or more of the following:
We will support innovators in developing their solutions by providing:
All funding must be used by teams to develop, test and demonstrate their solutions for Detroit’s Eastern Market, with the final funding to be used for implementation in Eastern Market.
Detroit’s Eastern Market is the largest open-air market and amongst the oldest historic markets in the U.S. and is at the heart of Detroit’s Challenge. It is the city’s hub for food distribution, selling over $360 million of wholesale food annually, and double that in exports. The district is poised to expand and is considering strategies to address environmental concerns, carbon emissions, and pollution, while adding residential units to this bustling community. It organizes farmers, wholesalers, distributors, and logistics operators into distribution activities designed to move food that feeds millions.
Eastern Market neighborhood is continuing to expand as a market and as a mixed-use district. A key challenge of its growth strategy is to harmonize food production and distribution increases with clean freight initiatives.
This will safeguard the health of Eastern Market residents, workers, and visitors while reducing fossil fuel costs of freight operators.
Detroit is seeking innovators who can demonstrate impact through solutions that achieve three key objectives:
The Office of Mobility Innovation (OMI) exists to help the City of Detroit navigate the rapidly changing transportation and mobility industries in partnership with the automotive industry to support clean and equitable mobility solutions. Transportation and mobility are essential for both people and businesses and Detroit’s automotive heritage provides an unparalleled opportunity to work with industry to innovate and define their future.
