Michigan is demanding repayment of $35 million from the American Center for Mobility, a nonprofit autonomous vehicle research facility in Ypsilanti Township that auto industry advocates say is essential to keeping the state competitive as self-driving technology accelerates. The Michigan Economic Development Corp., the quasi-public business development agency that administers the loan, is seeking annual payments of $1.62 million — an amount that would consume the $1.59 million surplus the 340-acre facility reported in its 2025 audit.
The state has invested a total of $67 million in the site, a former General Motors facility that once housed the Willow Run transmission plant. Michigan has already forgiven an earlier $15 million loan to the center. Pushing too hard for repayment now would make that spending “worthless” if it drives the project out of business, said John Rakolta, a metro Detroit developer who participated in early discussions about the center’s formation but is not currently involved.
“It’s a state investment to help cement the auto industry’s place in Michigan,” said state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, who is urging the state to forgive the loan or delay repayment. “It makes sense to continue that effort.”
The ACM was designated in 2016 by the Obama administration as one of 10 national proving grounds for self-driving cars, and its backers say it now stands alone among them in offering full testing capabilities. The test track was booked for 229 days in 2025, with researchers working across a range of environments including a highway loop, an off-road course, and a simulated downtown area. Customers include Toyota and other automakers, and the center holds affiliations with the University of Michigan and Michigan Tech.
“We’re hopeful that we have proven ourselves and that we can figure out a way that the state’s investment continues to be made,” said Paul Krutko, a founder of the center and its treasurer. Krutko, who is also CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK regional economic developers, said the ACM was never intended to turn a profit. The center “was always intended to be a nonprofit, open source environment for the industry to use,” he said.
Revenue at the facility topped $6 million in 2018 and again in 2022 before dipping to roughly $2.2 million in 2023 and 2024, according to the audit. Revenue rebounded to about $2.5 million in 2025. Most of the 35,430 square feet of office space is leased, with several long-term commitments in place.
The loan repayment demand arrives amid a broader legislative pullback on subsidy spending. The 2026 state budget deal called for about $91 million in cuts to MEDC programs, and some lawmakers continue to push for more. Bridge Michigan has reported that cash-for-jobs incentives under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration have yielded billions in promises but a fraction of the jobs delivered.
Danielle Emerson, a spokesperson for the MEDC, said the contract with the state clearly calls for repayment. She also said Michigan is prioritizing mobility initiatives, noting that 58% of U.S. automotive research and development spending takes place in the state. “Michigan is leading the nation in mobility solutions,” Emerson said.
One factor in the negotiations could involve the University of Michigan’s collaboration with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to build a data and research center, Irwin said. The state awarded U-M $100 million for site development in December 2024 and had previously identified the ACM campus as a potential location before the university purchased different land. Backlash to that choice prompted U-M to revisit the ACM site, an effort that remains ongoing.
Glenn Stevens, executive director of the MichAuto advocacy group and an ACM board member, described years of “peaks and valleys” in federal autonomous vehicle research funding but said the outlook is improving. “Automated and connected vehicle technology is really full steam ahead,” Stevens said, adding that the United States and partner nations need to develop “our own technologies and our own supply chains.”
“It’s really, really important for Michigan’s competitiveness,” Stevens said.
The ACM this spring is launching a search for a new CEO as Reuben Sarkar departs to become CEO of SAE International, a global mobility organization based near Pittsburgh. Krutko credited Sarkar for steering the center through rapid changes in automotive technology, shifts in federal spending, and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Krutko said the center has built a research ecosystem extending well beyond its original autonomous test track, encompassing work on hydrogen fuels, gas technology, and electric vehicle charging interoperability. “The need for a facility where autonomous solutions can be tested, which was the concept from the very beginning, has sort of come full circle,” he said.
Both Krutko and Emerson said negotiations over the debt are continuing. Neither provided details.