Michigan is about to establish its first drone business park – one of a handful of US states that are going “all-in” on drones as a fulcrum for economic development.

About $7 million in initial funding for the site – officially known as the “Michigan Unmanned Aerial Systems Park”  – was included in the state’s 2023 budget signed by governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) earlier this month.

Joe Sobieralski, president and CEO of Battle Creek Unlimited Inc., the economic development organization spearheading the project, says the new park will serve as a hub for commercial drone manufacturing and flight testing, much like the Grand Sky Business and Aviation Park established in 2015 in North Dakota, where the drone industry is considered the most advanced in the nation.

Like Grand Sky, Michigan’s proposed business park will occupy more than 200 acres of land and will offer tax and other incentives to attract drone businesses to establish facilities and hire hundreds of high-salaried workers, spurring the state’s economy.

Sobieralski has been working on plans for the new park with Battle Creek Executive Airport and the city of Battle Creek since 2018.  The state’s recently approved funding will support the development and testing of an integrated air traffic management system that allows drones to coexist with manned aircraft in the same airspace.

“This first $7 million will allow us to begin the process of putting the procedures in place, working with the Federal Aviation Administration and getting the right radar visualization system in [to] allow the Battle Creek Executive Airport to support land launching and recovering UAS,” Sobieralski told Crain’s Grand Rapids.

The plan for the new park grew out of a feasibility study conducted in 2018 with a $150,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, with support from the Western Michigan University College of Aviation, the Battle Creek Air National Guard (federally designated as the 110th Attack Wing), and the federal FAA Battle Creek Flight Inspection Field Office.

The consortium originally hoped to attract high-level FAA support and a multi-year federal grant for the proposed park.  However, in 2021, the FAA turned the group down and forced it to look elsewhere.  The consortium then turned to the governor’s office to keep the project alive.

Some critics say Sobieralski’s effort, while admirable, may be underestimating the challenges he faces securing additional funding and co-sponsors.  North Dakota’s Grand Sky park is anchored by a major energy and defense corporation, General Atomics, and by Northrop Gunman, one of the nation’s largest US defense contractors. In addition, flight testing at Grand Sky is conducted at the neighboring US Air Force Base at Grand Forks, ND.

It’s not clear if Battle Creek – even with the backing of the state government – could attract funding and infrastructure support on this same scale.

The new park is not Michigan’s first foray into drone flight testing or integrated air traffic management.  Detroit Region Aerotropolis, a local economic development corporation that supports a number of experiments in “smart” technology, has been working on the digital requirements for urban air mobility in the metropolitan Detroit area for several years. In addition, a number of area airports, including Detroit Metro and Willow Airport, which handles air cargo, have experimented with integrating drone flights into their daily operations.

Sobrielski says he hopes to expand upon these efforts but will need to attract more funding from the state and the private sector, as well as support from the FAA, which maintains a keen interest in air mobility testing. The FAA will likely get involved at some point, agency officials say.

Michigan ranks #18 on the Virginia-based Mercatus Center’s annual scorecard of the 50 US states based on their readiness to promote drone commerce.  The state has a drone task force that issues recommendations for how best to promote the drone industry in Michigan – many of which have been implemented in recent years.  Start-up funding for the Battle Creek business park likely emerged from the task force’s latest recommendations, sources say.