Ohio is looking to become the next Detroit...in the good sense.
The state’s push to invest in emerging fuel-cell technology is paying off: Several major corporations such as Rolls-Royce PLC are working with Ohio businesses on fuel-cell efforts.
How did Ohio become a hotbed for fuel-cell development? Subsidies of course.
Through $103 million in grants and other efforts, Ohio has worked to put itself ahead in fuel cells, widely considered the future as the nation looks for alternative energy sources.
Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake if the automotive industry abandons internal-combustion engines for fuel-cell-powered cars, for example.
"I think Ohio has done exceptionally well, so far," said Robert Rose, executive director of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council. "It’s a long, slow process. I think staying the course will be well worth it. I think Ohio’s progress has given other states the sense of opportunity."
The industry association that promotes the commercialization of fuel cells attended the state’s sixth annual symposium on the topic last week at Kent State University’s Stark County campus.
"Ohio makes sense for this industry," Lt. Gov. Bruce E. Johnson, who also serves as the Ohio Department of Development director, said last week after his presentation at the symposium.
The industry sees Ohio as "forward thinking" and fuel-cell companies are looking to locate in the state "because of the existing manufacturing base, the location and the strength of the technology, and the research and development that already exists here," Johnson said.
"I think fuel cells represent a gazelle industry," he said. "It’s an industry about to take off. It’s not going to surpass traditional power industries anytime soon, but it’s going to grow."
...because we're going to keep throwing money at it until it grows, daggumit.
Darn. I promised myself I wasn't going to be cynical anymore.
