$148 million metal research center set for Detroit

$148 million US metals research

7/23/2014

DETROIT — The headquarters of a federally funded metals research program that President Barack Obama announced earlier this year is slated to open this fall in Detroit.

The $148 million American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute is expected to help move cutting-edge metals from research into vehicles, planes and ships used commercially and by the U.S. military.

Eventually, two dozen people will work at the facility in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. Mayor Mike Duggan says city residents can get training for high-tech manufacturing jobs expected to open when the metals move into production.

The Pentagon is leading the public-private partnership, which officials say will contribute to economic development in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky over the next five years.