Energy Storage Safety Products International (ESSPI), based in Newlab Detroit at Michigan Central, has launched Med Hawk, a new division of the company focused on bringing its ground-based transportation monitoring system to the skies.

With this launch, ESSPI will provide drone operators with insight and analytics when aircraft are transporting medical supplies beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).

“The drone industry has built the foundation for incredible unmanned aircraft, but now ESSPI is working to demonstrate how we can make those same drones work for us,” says Ron Butler, CEO of ESSPI. “Using Med Hawk’s real-time data and monitoring systems, we are able to help ensure that medical supplies are delivered quickly and safely, ultimately helping to save lives.”

Med Hawk has partnered with Brighton autonomous drone logistics company Blueflite to demonstrate its drone battery monitoring and data logging capabilities and is utilizing the Michigan Central AAIR to replicate deliveries in real-world deployment scenarios.

“Blueflite is excited to work with ESSPI in flight testing their innovative and unique cold storage solution for medical logistics,” says Andrew Zeimen, program manager at Blueflite. “We are looking forward to flying with a Michigan designed and manufactured product on our mission to continue making drone delivery accessible to those that need it, where and when they need it most.”

ESSPI technology is built on the understanding that batteries often exhibit measurable environmental changes before catastrophic failure, the company says. Designed through three years of collaborative development with the U.S Department of Transportation, ESSPI’s DNOC framework — Detection, Notification, Operation, and Communication — allows Med Hawk to provide real-time visibility, data logging, and alerts so drone operators can take action before issues escalate.

Advanced aerial mobility is expanding access to medical deliveries, improving emergency response capabilities, and driving efficiencies across logistics and supply chains. Michigan Central and the Michigan Department of Transportation created AAIR to help scale these technologies, providing 28 square miles of dense, urban environment for testing and scaling new drone technologies into market-ready solutions.

“The diversification of ESSPI’s market offering showcases the transition we’re seeing many companies make, identification and commercialization of products which will make aerial mobility a viable platform to scale their business, while providing solutions for communities that better serve their needs,” says Matt Whitaker, director of the mobility innovation platform at Michigan Central. “What we are seeing with ESSPI and Blueflite is exactly what the Michigan Central ecosystem was built for. To create the foundation for talent and inspiring collaboration between member companies, leading to the next generation of advanced mobility innovation being born in Detroit.”

The collaboration is said to reflect broader momentum across Michigan Central’s aerial mobility ecosystem, which has supported more than 1,200 drone flights and multiple BVLOS deployments focused on logistics, infrastructure inspection, public safety, and delivery applications.

For more information about ESSPI, visit esspi.com/.

For more information about blueflite, visit blueflite.com/.

For more information about Michigan Central AAIR, visit here.

Southwest Detroit – A power outage at Marathon’s Detroit refinery has led to operating conditions that made flaring necessary, the company said Sunday.

Flares are safety devices that allow for the safe combustion of excess gases under certain operating conditions, according to Marathon.

Refinery personnel are conducting off-site air monitoring, the company said.

As a precaution, a section of Schaefer Road from I-75 to Dix Road is closed. Local law enforcement is managing the closure.

Marathon said the company’s top priorities are the safety of employees, responders and the community, as well as limiting any environmental impact.

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said her administration is monitoring the situation closely.

“EGLE (the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) and refinery personnel are conducting air quality monitoring both on-site and in the surrounding neighborhoods. At this time, monitoring has not detected gas readings of concern,” the statement said.

Local 4 reached out to EGLE and a spokesperson said the agency is sending all media inquiries to the city of Detroit.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, ceding the field to former Wayne County and Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens with just over four weeks to go until the Aug. 4 primary.

McMorrow told the Free Press on Sunday, July 5, she was suspending her campaign. She said she had hoped that voters would support a candidate who combined El-Sayed’ progressivism and Stevens’ policy background but that path has been largely closed off by considerable outside spending — tens of millions of it benefitting Stevens — in the race.

She did not endorse one of the other candidates in the race, at least not in the immediate aftermath of her decision.

In a three-minute video she posted at 1:40 p.m. Sunday on social media platform X, McMorrow confirmed her decision to suspend her campaign, saying she was doing so with a “deep sense of gratitude” to her supporters and campaign workers; her husband, Ray Wert; and their 5-year-old daughter, Noa, who McMorrow said reminded her recently, “‘It’s not about if you win, it’s about trying hard and having fun.’ She’s right.”