The Global Epicenter of Mobility (GEM), a signature program of the Detroit Regional Partnership (DRP), has launched Road to 2030, an effort to identify forward-looking insights around the technologies and sectors that present the greatest opportunities for growth through 2030.
The Road to 2030 initiative expands on existing research and knowledge assets from GEM, including the Future Mobility Technology Study (FMTS), which outlines seven mobility technologies with the greatest economic growth potential for the Detroit Region through 2030.
The latest initiative will offer deeper dives into those seven technologies and the economic opportunities they present within the region’s anchor industry for economic growth and prosperity, according to the DRP.
The Detroit region’s mobility nonprofits, small and medium-sized manufacturers, startups, and economic development partners should be able to utilize the data, insights, and analyses to help guide strategy development, expansion plans, and investment decisions within the evolving mobility industry.
Designed to harness the region’s automotive expertise, the initiative identifies emerging opportunities in next-generation mobility technologies to help advance regional economic development strategies across the entire 11-county Detroit Region.
“The FMTS leveraged GEM’s unique capabilities and resources across metro Detroit’s mobility industry to deliver clear pathways for those looking to enter or build upon their presence within the region’s mobility sector,” says Christine Roeder, executive vice president of GEM.
“The Road to 2030 aims to take those efforts a step further by equipping business leaders with additional insights needed to make well-informed decisions about future investments within the industry.”
The technologies identified in the Future Mobility Study that will be covered in the initiative includes:
- Assembly automation
- Battery chemistry and design
- Electric motors
- Hydrogen fuel cell systems
- Power electronics
- Propulsion thermal management systems
- Software: Software-Defined Vehicles, cybersecurity, and Over-the-Air solutions
The web-based modules, located in a dedicated area of the GEM website, includes analyses of each of the technologies, downloadable content, editorial perspectives on the impact of the technology to the Detroit Region, recent news articles, and more. Additionally, GEM and the DRP plan to host informative webinars with industry experts to share deeper insights on each technology.
Hydrogen fuel cell systems is the first technology GEM will focus on as part of the Road to 2030 initiative.
Hydrogen fuel cells have a projected unit increase of more than 5,000 percent by 2030, growing from 529 units in 2024 to more than 32,000 units. They also have the potential to create nearly 12,000 jobs nationally and 1,700 jobs in Michigan over the next five years, according to experts.
“By offering this regular cadence of data and analysis to our regional stakeholders, we hope to help inform their short to mid-term business decisions,” says Bernard Swiecki, vice president of mobility and research at the DRP. “We are turning our research into action to support the growth of the Detroit region’s most important industry as it continues to transition to new technologies over the remainder of this decade.”
GEM Central will release a new technology module regularly throughout 2025 and early 2026.
The new releases will be followed by regular updates and content on additional technologies that present the Detroit region with the greatest opportunities for job and investment growth.
For more information on GEM and the Road to 2030 initiative, including information on the upcoming Hydrogen webinar, visit gemdetroitregion.com/2030.
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