NorTech

Ohio Third Frontier Fuel Cell Funds for 12 Projects

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2008

Columbus, OH — Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher today announced that more than $8.9 million in grants have been awarded to 12 entities for the advancement of fuel cell research and production in Ohio. The funds were awarded through the Ohio Third Frontier Fuel Cell Program and are expected to create more than 2,000 jobs.

The 12 companies and research collaborations received awards to assist in Research, Development, and Commercialization Projects of fuel cell technologies or were awarded grants for fuel cell and related technology Market Readiness Demonstration projects.

“Strategic investments from Ohio’s Third Frontier Fuel Cell Program have established our state as a global leader in fuel cell innovations,” said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development and Chair of the Third Frontier Commission. “The investments made today will provide additional opportunities for the development and deployment of fuel cell technologies and will continue to spur economic growth in this important industry.”

2008 Fuel Cell Program Awards for Market Readiness Demonstrations Projects

HydroGen Corporation, located in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $525,140 for Improved Fuel Cell Power Plant Efficiency Using Cogeneration. HydroGen has completed the construction of the plant at ASHTA Chemicals and has determined that the electrical efficiency of the plant as constructed will be 33 percent. The target efficiency is 44 percent. This project aims to increase the electrical efficiency at the ASHTA Chemical plant. To improve the overall system efficiency and the project’s economic viability, HydroGen will add an Organic Rankine Cycle heat recovery unit that will provide additional electric generation to counterbalance the parasitic losses due to the need for hydrogen compression and the non-linear load profile resulting from operating a single fuel cell module.

2008 Fuel Cell Awards for Research, Development, & Commercialization Projects

Crown Equipment Corp., located in New Bremen (Auglaize County) was awarded $977,270 for its Qualification of Lift Trucks for Battery Replacement Fuel Cells project. This project is to qualify targeted models of Crown Equipment’s lift trucks to be powered by commercially available battery replacement fuel cell power packs such as those being utilized by Plug Power. Crown will target and qualify as many of its truck models eligible for fuel cell equipment as is practical. This qualification is a critical step in the widespread adoption of fuel cell powered lift trucks.

American Trim, located in Lima (Allen County) was awarded $1 million for its Agile Hybrid Joining of Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates project. American Trim will demonstrate that a 100-percent, full function, scale hydrogen fuel cell product can be made that is cost competitive when compared with an internal combustion engine. Attaining this goal will require the use of new technology that can reliably join foil plates without the complications of other methods.

Energy Technologies, Inc., located in Mansfield (Richland County) was awarded $ 1 million for its Development of a Robust Fuel Cell Generator for Military Applications project. Energy Technologies, Inc., will deliver a fully functional 1.5 kW Tactical Fuel Cell power plant prototype that includes the fuel cell module, replaceable/refillable hydrogen fuel canisters, power electronics, military-spec packaging, all subcomponents, and application and operation manuals. In addition, Energy Technologies intends to establish a new Ohio-based business named Tactical Fuel Cells, in which they will work with Michigan-based fuel cell manufacturer Energy Conversion Devices to produce fuel cell generation sets in the 2 to 10 kW range.

NexTech Materials, Ltd., located in Lewis Center (Delaware County) was awarded $1 million for its Cell Manufacturing for 100+kW SOFC Power Generation System project. NexTech Materials will fabricate and validate “ultra-large” area planar solid oxide fuel cells to be incorporated into 100+ kW power generation systems. Funds will be used to acquire equipment adequate for near-term production needs, establish testing capability for large area cell validation and support an Ohio State University development model.

Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (US), Inc., located in North Canton (Stark County) was awarded $ 1 million for the development of a High-Pressure Stack Block Test System for a Fuel Cell Power Module Overhaul Facility. Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems is developing a MW-scale solid oxide fuel cell for stationary power generation. This project will help Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems to design, fabricate, and demonstrate a stack block test system and develop a conceptual design for a generator module overhaul facility. This project will also assist Stark State College in developing its fuel cell technician training program, which will offer real world experience to students. Stark State College will assess the training needs of facility personnel and incorporate them into future curriculum.

UltraCell of Ohio, located in Vandalia (Montgomery County) was awarded $1 million for its Increasing Productivity and Reliability of Reformed Methanol Micro Fuel Cells project. The goal of this project is to increase UltraCell’s maximum manufacturing capability for its first product, the XX25, a portable, reformed methanol fuel cell, from 800 units/month to more than 3,000 units/month. Completion of the project will move UltraCell’s fuel cell from the demonstration phase to market entry.

Catacel Corporation, located in Garrettsville (Portage County) was awarded $445,614 for its High Volume Coating Process for Fuel Cell Catalytic Inserts project. Catacel has developed a catalytic coating process that it uses to produce inexpensive metal foil components for heat exchangers used in fuel cell reformers and other energy conversion processes. This project is aimed at increasing the production rate of one of the key components called an “insert”. Catacel will build a pilot-scale production line to develop its catalyst-coated inserts.

GrafTech International Holdings, Inc., located in Parma (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $973,154 toward the commercialization of GRAFCELL Bipolar Plates for Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell Systems. GrafTech will develop and commercialize bipolar plates for phosphoric acid fuel cells using its expanded natural graphite technology. These activities will build upon GrafTech’s prior work developing bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The goal is to develop a plate with performance equivalent to existing materials but at a much lower cost. GrafTech will produce sheets of graphite material that will then be machined into bipolar plates that will be tested by various fuel cell system developers.

Refractory Specialties Incorporated, located in Sebring (Mahoning County) was awarded $400,000 for its High Purity, Robust Kiln Furniture for Low Cost SOFC Manufacturing project. Refractory Specialties proposes to drive down the cost of manufacturing Solid Oxide Fuel Cell’s by developing a kiln setter material that, with a suitable coating, has shown to meet performance requirements. Currently available kiln setters do not meet the technical performance or life requirements of the fuel cell industry. Refractory Specialities will scale-up the setter fabrication and coating process to sizes that could be used for testing by potential customers

2008 Fuel Cell Awards for Applied Research and Development

Akron Polymer Systems, located in Akron (Summit County) was awarded $349,644 for its Nanocomposite Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells that Operate at High Temperatures project. Akron Polymer Systems will combine the enabling non-aqueous proton carrier technology, that they previously developed under a federal research and development grant, with inorganic nanoparticle technology to prepare a proton electrolyte membrane (PEM) that is suitable for extended use under conditions of high temperature and low relative humidity. They will also produce and test membrane electrode assemblies for use in automotive power systems, portable power systems, and small power systems as well as in military applications such as unmanned air vehicles and directed energy weapons.

Kent State University, located in Kent (Portage County) was awarded $299,548 for its Third Generation PEFC Catalytic Layers project. Platinum loading is a significant contributor to the cost of PEM fuel cells. Kent State University has developed a new approach using a very thin platinum shell on a nickel nano-wire substrate, which decreases the number of subsurface platinum atoms in the catalyst. General Motors has shown interest in testing these materials under its standard testing protocols, however the quantity of material required far exceeds Kent State University’s production capacity. This project will allow Kent State University to explore a higher yield catalyst fabrication process and to design and install this equipment at Kent State University.

Created in 2002, the Ohio Fuel Cell Initiative is a $103 million program that aims to spur job creation in Ohio while positioning the State as a national leader in the growing fuel cell industry. The initiative is an integral part of the Third Frontier Project, a $1.6 billion high-tech research program designed to create jobs and bring new products to market.To date, more than $70 million in funds have been awarded to Fuel Cell projects across the state.

Read Crain’s Cleveland Business and Plain Dealer coverage of Northeast Ohio companies cited in this press release that received Third Frontier funding.

On April 16 and 17, 2008, hundreds of scientists and scholars will come together for two days of collaboration, creativity, and innovation. From real-world applications to critical insights to creative and intellectual activities, Research ShowCASE highlights the full range of faculty, postdoctoral, and graduate research at Case.

Don’t miss Research ShowCASE and your opportunity to view some of the most exciting and important research being done on our campus, in Ohio, and in the world.

Research ShowCASE is a free public exhibit and is held in Veale Convocation Center on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.

View the full Researach ShowCASE program agenda.  Click here to register to attend the event.

MAGNET administers the New Product Development and Entrepreneurship Program, Product Innovation Loan Fund on behalf of the Cuyahoga County Department of Development.  In the last three years, the fund has provided over $3 million for new product development in NE Ohio and additional funds are now available.

The process is competitive.  Applicants will have their submissions reviewed and approved by a committee consisting of local business leaders, venture capitalist, designers, entrepreneurs and representatives from Cuyahoga County.  Applications for the current funding round are being accepted with a submission deadline of NOON EDT on Friday, April 25, 2008.  Loans of up to $115,000 can be made in phased increments ranging from $15,000 to $60,000 depending upon how much development has already been completed and what remains to be done.

The loans have an interest rate of 3.5%.  There are no interest or principal payments for the first three years after disbursement.  Small companies of less than $50 million in sales as well as entrepreneurs can use this money to fund their product development process for such activities as market research, patent services, industrial design, engineering and prototyping efforts.

Full details of the program along with application forms are available at http://www.magnetwork.org/programs/cuyahoga-loan-fund.htm.

If you have further questions you can contact Barbara Paul by phone at 216-432-5322, or by email at barbara.paul@magnetwork.org

The Ohio Aerospace Institute and TechLift, a NorTech Initiative, are hosting three SBIR/STTR & Grant Funding Proposal Preparation Workshops. An intensive, two-day workshop will also be held after these for those individuals interested in more thorough information regarding SBIR/STTR and grant funding.

Date(s) and Location(s) of Intro Workshops:
Friday, April 4, 2008 at the Akron Global Business Accelerator

Thursday, April 10, 2008 at the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise

Friday, April 11, 2008 at The Youngstown Global Business Incubator

Date and Location of Intensive, Two-Day Workshop:
Monday, April 28 - Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at the Ohio Aerospace Institute

Time:
10:00 am - 2:00 pm (for all three workshops)

Cost:
$25 for OAI Members & TechLift Partners
$40 for Non-Members
Lunch will be provided.Registration & Details:
For complete details on the initial intro workshops, click here.

For complete details on the initial , .For more information on the intensive, two-day workshop, click here.

Each year, Nanotechnology industry experts gather to collaborate and network during the Ohio Nanotechnology Summit. The 2008 Summit will focus on applications and product commercialization. New how-to consultative sessions and collaboration mixers allow attendees to focus their experience to build their business and grow partnerships. A preliminary agenda is available on their website at http://www.ohionanosummit.com/.

Date: Wednesday, April 9 to Friday, April 11, 2008
Location: Great Wolf Lodge, 2501 Great Wolf Drive, Mason, Ohio 45040

Agenda: For a complete listing of the agenda, please click here.

Featured speakers include:

• Dr. Linda Horton, Director, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Mike Rocco, Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology, National Science Foundation
• Lee Fisher, Lt. Governor, State of Ohio
• And many more

Several NEW elements will be featured in this year’s event, including:

• More sessions on how to use nanotechnology for new business development
• Interactive, focused workshops
• How to access Third Frontier funding
• How to create successful partnerships; industry/academia and industry/industry
• Private consultative assessments, providing companies with customized expert advice on how nanotechnology could be applied to their businesses

Cost:
Early registration - $195*
Late registration  - $275
Early student and Government - $75*
Late student - $125
Evening Networking session only - $55
Collaboration Mixers - $70 for those not registered for conference or workshops

Registration: To register for this event, please click here. *Early Registration Ends March 21st.

Questions: For more information, please click here. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Amanda Whinery at 513-529-2813 or whinerac@muohio.edu.  

In 2007, Team NEO launched the Economic Development Impact Awards. The awards program was created to recognize the best in economic development achievement, honoring those organizations that have made the greatest impact in revitalizing the Cleveland Plus economy. More than 250 business and community leaders, economic developers and elected officials from throughout 16 counties gathered for the inaugural program to recognize and reward the economic development professionals and successes that are positively impacting our economy.

We are accepting nominations for the 2008 Impact Awards. We welcome you to participate in this important program. Click here for nomination form and further details.  Deadline for entries is March 14, 2008.

Nominations are being accepted for work completed in the 2007 calendar year in the following categories:  

·       New Job Creation:  Including number of jobs created and amount of new payroll added to the community.

·       Job Retention:  How an Economic Development Organization saved a business in the community, including tactics used and number of jobs saved.

·       Public/Private Partnership:  How an Economic Development Organization worked with a private entity to improve the economic prosperity of the community.

·       Foreign Investment:  How an Economic Development Organization brought international business to the community.

·       Minority Job Creation/Retention:  How an Economic Development Organization brought new minority jobs to the community, including the number of employees and new payroll.

·       Asset Creation: Utilization of an existing resource (e.g., building, land, “white elephant”) to benefit the region and yield economic prosperity.

·       Business Award: How a business benefited the community through economic development efforts.

·       Fostering Entrepreneurship: For a business or Economic Development Organization that helped a start-up organization be successful in their quest of starting a new business.

·       Community Improvement: For a business or Economic Development Organization that improved a community and what the impact this action yielded.

·       Marketing Cleveland Plus Region: For a business or Economic Development Organization that utilized the Cleveland Plus marketing campaign, including use of branding and templates provided by the Alliance.

The Northeast Ohio Information Technology (IT) Workforce Initiative, led by NorTech, today released a report that analyzes the region’s demand and supply of IT professionals in Northeast Ohio. While previous research had indicated a reduction in demand for IT workers, this study suggests employers have a renewed and growing demand for IT professionals and skilled workers across the region.

“The Northeast Ohio Information Technology Workforce Report” was commissioned by NorTech, Northeast Ohio’s leading technology-based economic development organization, and prepared and conducted by the Public Services Institute at Lorain County Community College, the Center for Public Management at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, and Cypress Research Group. Other members in the Northeast Ohio IT Workforce Initiative include: Cuyahoga County Workforce Investment Board, Northeast Ohio Research Consortium of the Ohio Urban University Program, Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE), Northeast Ohio Software Association (NEOSA), and Team NEO.

The report highlights nine major findings, based on national/local IT talent development trend analysis, employer surveys/interviews, and focus groups with IT graduates and higher education institutions. Below is a summary of the key findings:

• The Information Technology (IT) Workforce is Sizable - There are an estimated 96,000 IT professionals employed in Northeast Ohio and survey data estimates that at any given time, half of all employers with more than 25 workers are seeking to fill at least one IT position.

• Employers Needs are Clear - The greatest demand for IT workers in 2006 and 2007 were for Business Application Specialists, Programmers, Software Engineers/Architects, and Web Developers.

• Demand Out Paces Supply – The system of higher education is not producing enough graduates to keep pace with the employer demand for professional workers.

• Work Experience is Paramount – According to IT graduates, experience equals employment. Recent graduates were frustrated with the amount of work experience required by employers for specific jobs yet only about 20% of employers offered at least one form of work-based learning experience (e.g., internships) in 2006.

• Soft Skills Dominate – Communications skills, project management skills, ability to apply IT applications to the business setting, and willingness to adapt/keep pace with change were among the primary skill demands described by employers during in-depth interviews.

• Most IT Jobs Require a Bachelor’s Degree: (65% of all job openings in 2007)

• Use of Non-Permanent Workers is Common – Nationally, the use of non-permanent workers (like temporary workers or consultants) has increased steadily since 2001. The same is true of Northeast Ohio.

• IT Graduates Are Not Connected to Jobs – Most often, employers recruit workers from other companies in Northeast Ohio and do not recruit individuals directly from school. This finding is also substantiated by the amount of churn or turnover that exists in Northeast Ohio for IT positions. In 2006, 42% of employers used consultants to fulfill IT work requirements.

• Connections Between Employers & Educators Are Needed – Overall investment in training and development of IT workers is low in Northeast Ohio and few employers partner with education and training providers.

In addition to supporting an analysis of supply and demand, the IT Workforce Initiative will work with other stakeholder organizations to develop a roadmap or action plan based on strategic priorities outlined in the report. Some of those priories include: more work-based learning experience for IT students; better alignment of employer’s technical and soft skill needs with IT academic programs; more entrepreneurial IT course work; better connections between IT graduates and available jobs; and greater connections between the private sector and Northeast Ohio’s system of higher education for incumbent worker training. The roadmap will build upon existing regional strengths and outline the steps necessary to fill some of the identified gaps and create a world class IT workforce for the region.

“The recent research and analysis has improved our understanding of the talent related factors that contribute to the region’s ability to build a strong and vibrant Information Technology industry cluster. It’s important for industry and academia to work together to solve these complex workforce issues so our region can be remain globally competitive,” said Dr. Roy Church, President of Lorain County Community College and Chair of the IT Workforce Initiative.

“We were and still are concerned that high tech talent may be a growth limiting factor in Northeast Ohio’s high tech economy and that’s why the IT roadmap is critical to resolving the talent shortage for the region’s IT industry. However, IT is not the only industry in Ohio experiencing talent shortages–there are number of groups and organization in the region working on talent attraction, retention and development strategies for those industries. The key to success will be working together strategically and tactically on these issues,” Dorothy Baunach, President and CEO of NorTech.

The complete report can be found at: http://www.nortech.org  and http://www.lorainccc.edu/Business+and+Industry/PSI/
For additional information about this study, please contact Shara L. Davis, Director of the Public Services Institute at Lorain County Community College, at sdavis@lorainccc.edu or (440) 366-7578.

About NorTech:
NorTech, the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition, is a technology-based economic development organization and catalyst for making Northeast Ohio a global leader in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. NorTech works closely with regional technology leaders to build a globally-competitive, innovation driven, technology economy by: Leading technology projects that have an impact on the region’s innovation infrastructure; Linking together regional technology leaders and innovation assets to spur collaboration and commercialization; and Leveraging public and private investments to revitalize Northeast Ohio’s economy. www.nortech.org  

About the Public Services Institute and Joint Center for Policy Research:
The Public Services Institute is a division of Lorain County Community College providing a link between higher education and governments, non-profit organizations, and civic leadership through education, training, expert facilitation of group and community processes, public engagement, and research to address issues of importance in Lorain County, Northeast Ohio, and the entire state. The Institute encourages use of data and information to inform planning, problem-solving, and decision making. http://www.lorainccc.edu/Business+and+Industry/PSI/  

About the Center for Public Management, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University:
The Center for Public Management’s mission is to serve as a resource for Ohio’s state and local governments and not-for-profit organizations by providing services to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of governance operations and public policy. The Center for Public Management provides technical assistance, policy analysis, applied research, organizational and staff development, and training services to a broad clientele. Since its inception in 1982, the PM has served state and local governments, not-for-profit organizations, public works agencies, special districts, and policy and legislative organizations on a local, regional, state, and national basis. http://urban.csuohio.edu/publicmanagement/  

About Cypress Research Group:
Cypress Research Group is a ’boutique’ market and business research firm. They provide custom research services to meet various market and business research needs. The group’s research professionals are all experienced on the ‘client side’ and the ’supplier side,’ giving them a keen appreciation of how important it is that all projects are completed on time, on budget, and per the clients’ specifications. Their job is to solve clients’ business problems through business intelligence gained through research. http://www.cypress-research.com/  

On Wednesday March 5, 2008 Dorothy C. Baunach, president and CEO of NorTech, received the Richard A. Shatten Professional Leadership award during the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s annual meeting. Dorothy’s extensive career as a technology-based economic development professional in Northeast Ohio, encompassing work her early work in the 80’s in Cleveland’s biotech cluster, to her role at Cleveland Tomorrow, and then her efforts since 2004 as the head of NorTech, led to her nomination for this year’s award.

The GCP started the Richard A. Shatten award in 2007. The annual leadership award recognizes professional individuals who exhibit the same traits and passion for moving the region forward through public-private partnerships. Recipients reflect Richard’s spirit through their work to enhance Cleveland’s physical and human capital in imaginative ways.  These endeavors are sure to carry their own legacies for years to come.