By Felipe Melhado
Ford Motor Company, Michigan Central, and Ford Pro are backing Newlab to fuel innovation. In an era marked by climate change, ageing infrastructure, and the need for sustainable mobility, Newlab is a beacon for deep tech solutions. The Brooklyn-based innovation platform is expanding into Detroit through a partnership with Ford and Michigan Central, and I had the opportunity to visit and see this firsthand.
Two innovation studios inside Michigan Central bring startups, engineers, and industry leaders together to solve real-world problems in connectivity, autonomy, and electrification. Supported by Ford Pro, these studios are test beds for scalable, pilot-ready solutions.
Newlab’s headquarters, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is a 7,800-m2 technological playground, featuring prototyping labs, clean rooms, and fabrication shops. With over 200 startups and 800+ technologists, it’s a blend of cutting-edge tools and real-world pilot opportunities.
Newlab operates through multi-stakeholder studios: problem-solving ecosystems that unite startups, Fortune 500 listers, and public agencies. Engineers are supported by integrators, domain experts, test data, and rapid-iteration environments.
Some major project categories include last-mile EV fleet decarbonization, battery development, and bio-composite testing in urban infrastructure.
Newlab’s engineering focus includes energy systems – microgrids, hydrogen fuel, grid storage, mobility and autonomy – as well as EV platforms, V2X, autonomous navigation, materials (biofabrication, upcycled composites), sensors and robotics, perception stacks, embedded systems, AI & edge, industrial IoT, and control systems.
Unlike typical innovation hubs, Newlab emphasizes deployment. From autonomous shuttles in Detroit to robotic inspections in cities, their solutions move quickly from lab to street.
For engineers who want to do more than just design circuits or code models, who want to build systems that move the needle on global challenges, Newlab offers a rare opportunity: a place where technical excellence meets applied innovation.
Grounded RVs, a Detroit-based startup, offer customizable, all-electric vans designed for both recreational and commercial use. Founded by a team of engineers and designers working out of Newlab Detroit, the company shifted from Ford’s Transit platform to GM’s BrightDrop vans, offering 435 km of range and modular lengths of 6 and 7.3 m.
Grounded serve two main customer types: commercial clients such as mobile clinics and pet food trucks, who collaborate with the team to design custom layouts using 3D renders and CAD files, and recreational users who can personalize their camper vans through an intuitive drag-and-drop online configurator, with builds delivered in just 90 days.
To scale up, Grounded are moving from fully custom builds to predefined modular options, improving efficiency while retaining flexibility. Their builds range from Arctic expedition-ready vans to mobile dentist offices.
Challenges include managing high build variability and limited EV charging infrastructure. Solar panels support internal power but don’t extend driving range, though deployable solar awnings are in development.
Newlab Detroit was critical to Grounded’s early success, offering no-cost access to $10m in manufacturing tools, including CNC machines and prototyping equipment. And while housed in a Ford-owned building, Grounded exclusively build on GM platforms.
As mobility tech accelerates, lighting remains an underexplored frontier at Newlab. Future-forward systems like adaptive headlamps, V2X signalling, and bio-responsive interiors could come to be considered essential for safety and user experience in EVs and AVs. Newlab’s model of real-world deployment and rapid prototyping makes it an ideal stage for lighting breakthroughs.