The Detroit News - Solar energy company Sunlogics Inc. will invest $30 million to open its global headquarters and a factory in Rochester Hills, thanks in part to a $7.5 million investment by General Motors Co.'s venture capital arm.
The move is expected to create 200 Metro Detroit jobs and support another 110 jobs in Ontario, where the solar firm wants to add another manufacturing site, Sunlogics said Thursday.
GM Ventures LLC picked Sunlogics to provide solar-powered charging stations at the carmaker's facilities and North American Chevrolet dealerships, where it sells the plug-in Chevy Volt. Sunlogics will use part of GM's funding to establish its headquarters in a 140,000-square-foot building once owned by auto supplier Dana Holding Corp.
"The GM Ventures investment clearly demonstrates that technology and innovation continue to thrive in Oakland County," County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a statement. "We appreciate GM Ventures' significant commitment to Sunlogics and Sunlogics' decision to locate its headquarters in Rochester Hills and Oakland County."
GM established the venture capital unit in June 2010 with a $100 million fund for investing in auto-related technologies.
"… We believe that investing in renewable energy is a smart and strategic business decision," said Jon Lauckner, president of GM Ventures.
