Fuel Cell Initiative
Energizes Projects

Ohio is now a year into Taft's $103 million, three-year program aimed at positioning the state as a leader in the burgeoning fuel-cell industry through investments in research, project demonstration and job creation. The Fuel Cell Initiative, part of the Third Frontier project, seeks to carve out for the state a share of a market projected to reach $2.4 billion by 2004 and $7 billion by 2009. The Fuel Cell Initiative allocates:
        • $75 million in low-interest loans to make capital investments to create and retain jobs.
        • $25 million for research, development and demonstration of fuel cells.
        • $3 million for worker training.
        One of the latest Ohio fuel-cell projects is in Springboro, a Dayton suburb, where Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC just opened a new $13.9-million, 170,000-sq.-ft. (15,800-sq.-m.) plant. The move was a short one for the firm, which was in Kettering, just 14 miles (23 km.) away. The new facility, which has good Interstate access, will double the manufacturing capacity of the company, which produces nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. These maintenance-free batteries are used in electric and hybrid- electric vehicles. Other applications include telecommunications and uninterruptible power systems.

Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems recently moved into its new plant in Springboro. A joint venture between a unit of ChevronTexaco Corp. and Energy Conversion Devices, the company manufactures nickel metal hydride batteries.

        "We wanted to stay in the same general area and retain our work force," says Gary Absher, vice president, manufacturing. "We looked at other areas in the region and at expanding our facility in Kettering. It just wasn't feasible to expand the facility for things we wanted to do."
        With the new facility, the company is poised for rapid growth, Absher says. The current work force of 36 will eventually increase to about 300, he says.

William Dawson (r.), managing director and co-founder of NexTech, speaks with Gov. Bob Taft at the company's current facility. NexTech, which will be moving into a larger building in June, was the first company to receive funding from Taft's Fuel Cell Initiative.

        Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC is a 50-50 joint venture between a unit of ChevronTexaco Corp. and a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices.
        NexTech Materials, a developer and supplier of materials for the fuel-cell industry, is moving into a 54,000-sq.-ft. (5,016-sq.-m.) building in an Enterprise Zone in southern Delaware County. The expansion will accommodate expanded research and development and scale-up of manufacturing processes. NexTech's new facility is about two miles (3.2 km.) north of its former facility in Worthington, Ohio. The company was the first to receive funds from the Fuel Cell Initiative program.
        "We are pleased to have found a facility in Central Ohio that meets our foreseeable expansion needs," says William Dawson, managing director and co-founder of NexTech. "We wanted to stay in the area because this is my home and our employee base is here."
        Dawson says NexTech, which was founded in 1994, considered about 25 sites over a three-year period for its new location. While Dawson considered incentive programs offered by other states, Central Ohio was always the first choice.

Dana Corp. will open its new Automotive Systems Group Technology Center in Monclova Township, near Toledo, in November. The facility will house engineering, information technology, administrative and sales and marketing functions from the company's light axle, driveshaft and systems integration operations.

        Dawson says Ohio offers good opportunity for fuel-cell development because of the state's long manufacturing history. The state's universities are at the "leading edge" of research and development in this sector, which could translate into a healthy assortment of jobs, he says.
        Although most of its research is done elsewhere, Toledo-based Dana Corp. is one of many companies active in Ohio's fuel-cell development effort.
        "Our engineers are currently working on more than 50 active fuel-cell projects globally with partners in the residential, commercial and automotive markets," says Joe Magliochetti, Dana's chairman and CEO. "We are particularly encouraged by the level of technology directed toward a commercially and technically viable fuel cell for mobile applications."
        Although it won't directly be involved in fuel-cell development per se, Dana's Automotive Systems Group Technology Center currently going up in Monclova Township, southwest of Toledo, will involve innovations in systems which will utilize fuel-cell technology. The center will house 90,000 sq. ft. (8,360 sq. m.) of design and development space and 80,000 sq. ft. (7,430 sq. m.) for offices and future expansion. Dana expects to open the facility, which will employ about 500, in November.