Governor Designates Columbus the Ohio Hub of Advanced Energy Manufacturing & Storage
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced the designation of an Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity in Central Ohio to assist Ohio’s advanced energy manufacturing and energy storage industries.
The Central Ohio Hub for Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Energy Storage aims to position Columbus and Central Ohio as a global leader in advanced energy storage research, commercialization and manufacturing.
“Ohio Hubs are an important part of our plan to create good jobs in Ohio’s growth industries,” Strickland said. “Our strategic focus on Central Ohio’s strengths will position the region as the best place in the world for energy storage research and advanced energy manufacturing.”
“One year ago this month, we announced our state’s very first Hub of Innovation and Opportunity in Dayton – an initiative that has come full circle today,” Strickland said. “When we launched our first Hub, the idea was to enhance the assets of our state’s major cities by bringing people, businesses and communities together. This latest Hub designation boosts Ohio’s leadership in several growing energy technology industries, helping provide job opportunities for Ohioans and creating a climate where businesses can thrive.”
The Ohio Hubs, supported by the Ohio Department of Development, leverage a region’s resources and investments to attract clusters of connected businesses, encourage new investments and an influx of talented workers, and help create new opportunities to grow jobs and develop Ohio’s key industries.
The Hub will build Central Ohio’s existing institutional, commercial and industrial resources to further develop expertise and competencies, build companies and create high-wage job opportunities for the state. A $250,000 state grant, administered by the Ohio Department of Development, will help support the Hub.
“The Ohio Hubs were created to harness the strengths of each region in the state and build upon the success we have already seen in a variety of growing industries, including advanced energy,” Lt. Governor Lee Fisher said. “This Hub designation allows us to create good-paying jobs for Central Ohioans and foster economic opportunities through collaboration.”
The Hub partners include: TechColumbus, The Ohio State University, Battelle Memorial Institute, Edison Welding Institute, The Columbus Partnership and the City of Columbus.
“Columbus is a prime location to establish the Hub because of its strong manufacturing base, extensive transportation systems and robust research and development institutions,” said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “We look forward to working with the Hub for Advanced Energy Manufacturing, which will not only advance our nation’s Advanced Energy business market, but will also create jobs and serve as an economic stimulus to the manufacturing industry here in Columbus.”
“This advanced energy hub affirms the great power of partnerships to shape Ohio’s future economic vitality,” said Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee. “Through working shoulder-to-shoulder with so many partners, our faculty, staff, and students are building bridges from ideas to industry and research to results.”
“Aligning the existing expertise of many individuals and institutions in Central Ohio helps make this area a world-class leader in advanced energy and storage,” said Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director of the Ohio Department of Development.
To be designated an Ohio Hub, a region must identify core strengths and develop a strategic plan for urban revitalization. The designation consists of a commitment from both the state and the region to work collaboratively and target economic development efforts toward building upon those identified strengths.
“Once again, the State of Ohio is making a targeted investment in Central Ohio’s future,” said Ted Ford, President and CEO of TechColumbus. “With OSU, Battelle, and EWI as anchors, Central Ohio is in a strong position to become a national center for advanced energy manufacturing and energy storage technology. The designation of this Hub fits with Central Ohio’s comprehensive economic development strategy, Columbus 2020, which was developed under the aegis of the Columbus Partnership. TechColumbus is pleased to be selected as the lead collaborator to implement the Hub.”
This is the seventh Ohio Hub designation, following the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Hub of Advanced Materials Commercialization and Software Development announcement last week, Akron Biomaterials Commercialization Hub and Cincinnati’s Consumer Marketing Hub of Innovation announcements in July, Toledo’s Northwest Ohio Solar Energy Innovation Hub and the Cleveland Health and Technology Corridor Hub announcements in June, and the Ohio Aerospace Hub announcement in Dayton last September.
The Ohio Hubs develop a unique, concentrated environment that spurs innovation, company growth, employment, capital investment, product sales and community development in designated areas.
