About Nextenergy Center
We scale and advance solutions to make life healthier, safer and more efficient for people of every background, location and demographic. NextEnergy works with industry partners to transform innovative technologies into solutions that create a better quality of life for all, accelerating cleaner energy, mobility and smart‑cities technologies.
Focus Areas
clean energyelectric mobility / EV charginghydrogen (heavy-duty)smart cities and community IoTtesting & demonstrationadvanced air mobility / dronesconsortium & program management
Who They Fund
technology developers (startups and private companies)research institutions and universitiesnonprofit technology organizations and labspublic-private partnerships
About Nextenergy Center
Nextenergy Center’s grantmaking is built around technology demonstrations, with repeated support for universities, cities, startups, and consortia testing energy and mobility solutions in real-world settings. The largest recent grant in the data went to the Regents of the University of Michigan for technology demonstrations in the United States, and Kettering University also received major support for the same purpose. That pattern fits the foundation’s broader role as a funder and program manager for applied pilot work rather than a traditional general-support grantmaker. Across the recent grants list, the foundation backs work in cleaner energy, electric mobility, hydrogen, smart cities, and connected transportation. Several awards also point to a strong interest in deployment infrastructure and field testing, including support for the Michigan Unmanned Aerial System Consortium, City of Marquette, and Adastec Corp. Its active platforms reinforce that approach: the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform lists mobility pilot opportunities in Michigan, and the Detroit Smart Parking Lab runs an Autonomous Movement Initiative for early-stage mobility startups. Nextenergy Center also funds public-private and university partnerships, alongside nonprofit technology organizations and labs, to move prototypes toward practical use.
What Nextenergy Center Funds
In mobility and transportation innovation, Nextenergy Center gave $230,000 to Michigan Unmanned Aerial System Consortium for technology demonstrations, and later supported the same grantee again with $221,655 for the same purpose. The foundation also funded City of Marquette twice, including $194,877 and $93,015, both for technology demonstrations. Its energy and electrification work appears in awards to electric-vehicle and charging-related organizations. Civilized Cycles received $227,604 for technology demonstrations, while Brandmotion received $106,785 and Grounded Rvs received $105,384 for the same purpose. On the infrastructure side, Adastec Corp received $190,800, and Hyfi received $123,072, both tied to technology demonstrations. The foundation also supports research and applied testing through universities and institutes. Michigan State University received $199,610, Michigan Technological University received $104,697 and $102,635, and the Regents of the University of Michigan received $453,225, all for technology demonstrations.
How Nextenergy Center Gives
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3M
Total Assets
$7.2M
Total Revenue
$4.7M
Total Expenses
$5.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $22K and $96K, with a median of $51K.
25th Percentile
$22K
Median
$51K
75th Percentile
$96K
Geographic Reach
Regional15 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
JAMES SABER
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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