Sharrow Engineering Announces Move to Michigan Central and Launches Sharrow Labs, a New Affiliate Dedicated to Pioneering the Future of Propulsion, Energy, and Mobility

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2025--

Sharrow Engineering, the company behind the revolutionary Sharrow™ Propeller, announced today that it will relocate its global headquarters to Michigan Central in downtown Detroit. The move marks a major milestone in the company’s evolution and includes the launch of Sharrow Labs, a new affiliate dedicated to pioneering breakthrough technologies in propulsion, clean energy, and advanced mobility.

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Based at Newlab at Michigan Central, Sharrow Labs will serve as the research and development hub of Sharrow Engineering, expanding its award-winning design platform into new industries, including aerospace, wind energy, HVAC, drone technology, and defense.

“Relocating to Michigan Central and launching Sharrow Labs represents a bold leap forward for our company,” said Greg Sharrow, founder and CEO of Sharrow Engineering. “With Sharrow Labs, we’re building the future—taking the core principles that redefined marine propulsion and applying them to the world’s most pressing engineering challenges.”

Sharrow is actively working on novel propulsion and flow control applications for aerospace, wind energy, HVAC, drone technology, and hydropower. Strategic partnerships already underway include collaborations with VEEM in Australia and Anduril Industries, as well as programs with the U.S. Department of Defense, ranging from ultra-quiet drone rotors to next-generation propulsion systems.

The company will join Newlab, a global venture platform for critical technology startups building a sustainable future embedded within Michigan Central, which will serve as the platform for scaling R&D and commercialization. Sharrow Engineering and Sharrow Labs are beginning a hiring initiative to expand their team in areas like mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, data science, and product development.

“Newlab was created to remove the barriers for founders like Greg to bring critical technologies, bold solutions that challenge past performance and resource assumptions, to the world at scale,” said Katie Soven, Managing Director at Newlab Detroit. “Sharrow Labs represents the future of Michigan's growth, harnessing our robust industrial base to create visionary, breakthrough technologies that set entirely new standards for each industry they touch.”

“What Greg and his team have accomplished is extraordinary,” added David Dolby, board member and CEO of Dolby Family Ventures. “Sharrow has reinvented propeller technology and turned it into a market leader. Sharrow Labs is now scaling that disruptive thinking to new sectors, and the impact will be global for propulsion performance and efficiency.”

Sharrow Engineering and Sharrow Labs will begin operations at Michigan Central in late Q2 2025.

About Sharrow Engineering

Sharrow Engineering is a Detroit-based company pioneering breakthrough technologies in propulsion, energy, and mobility. The company is best known for inventing the Sharrow™ Propeller—the first major advancement in propeller technology since the 1830s—which delivers up to 30% greater fuel efficiency and up to 80% noise reduction compared to traditional designs. Sharrow Engineering holds over 150 patents worldwide and is the parent company of Sharrow Marine, which manufactures and delivers high-performance marine propulsion systems to customers around the globe. The Sharrow Propeller has been widely recognized, including being named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2023 and Soundings Trade Only's Most Innovative Marine Companies, and honored by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards and Innovation by Design Awards. With applications that extend beyond marine into aerospace, defense, HVAC, and renewable energy, Sharrow Labs is redefining what’s possible in modern propulsion.

To learn more, visit www.sharrowlabs.com

Greg Sharrow, CEO of Sharrow Engineering and inventor of the Sharrow™ Propeller.

WADI AD-DAWASIR, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saood Variawa snatched stage eight from South African compatriot Henk Lategan by three seconds after an impressive comeback drive in the Dakar Rally on Monday.

Variawa, only 20 and driving in his third Dakar, started 26th and was in sixth place with 100 kilometers to go in the 483-kilometer loop outside Wadi ad-Dawasir. Then he was third after 414 and second after 448.

For the second straight day Lategan had a stage win ripped from his grasp. On Sunday his Toyota's rear damper broke 30 kilometers from the finish.

Meanwhile, Luciano Benavides became the overall motorbike leader for the first time in his ninth Dakar after winning a second straight stage and gobbling up all 7 1/2 minutes in bonus time for faultlessly opening the way.

Benavides won the stage by 4:50 over KTM teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders and replaced Sanders atop the overall by 10 seconds going into the two-day marathon stage.

Monday's stage, the longest of the race, had a cocktail of dunes, valleys and rocks but navigation was easier than expected and it turned into a fast, wind-whipped special.

The top five cars — featuring main title contenders Lategan, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mattias Ekström — were less than a minute apart for the first 400 kilometers until Al-Attiyah's navigation error suddenly dropped him two minutes behind.

Thanks to starting nearly an hour after the opener, Ekström, Variawa sneaked through for his second career stage win. The first last year at 19 made him the youngest stage winner in Dakar history.

Variawa, following his father Shameer as a Dakar racer, suffered tire, navigation and mechanical problems on Sunday but got his Toyota back up to 13th overall with the aim of a maiden top-10 finish.

Al-Attiyah's Dacia got about 45 seconds back in the closing section to finish fifth and limit his time losses to remain the overall leader by four minutes over Ekström, whose Ford was third on the stage, and six minutes over Lategan.

Nani Roma fell from third to fourth, 9 1/2 minutes back, and Ford teammate Carlos Sainz was another minute behind. It's the closest top five after eight stages in 26 years.

The motorbikes of Sanders and Ricky Brabec were quicker in real time but the seven-plus minutes in time bonuses for opening the dusty track helped Benavides win by the same margin he did on Sunday, nearly five minutes.

“These last two stages were a little bit more fast and in these conditions I can read the roadbook super, super good and make good decisions,” Benavides said.

He has eight career motorbike stage wins, three behind his brother Kevin, the champion in 2021 and 2023.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Rider Tosha Schareina competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Rider Ricky Brabec competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz compete with riders David Brock, bottom right, and Fernando Dominguez, top left, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Romain Dumas and co-driver Alex Winocq compete with riders David Brock, right, and Fernando Dominguez, in the background, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois Cazalet compete during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)