Ohio Ranks Number One For Fourth Consecutive Year

It's not surprising to executives who live and work in Ohio that Site Selection magazine has awarded Ohio with the annual Governor's Cup Award for the fourth year in a row.

The Governor's Cup Award is based on the number of private capital investments for new or expanded facilities that involved an investment of at least $1 million, created a minimum of 50 new jobs or added at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area. Ohio came in first place with 381 projects. Texas ranks second in the nation with 374 projects, followed by Michigan (371), Pennsylvania (333) and Tennessee (234).

There are many reasons why Ohio continues to be the ideal place to establish or grow a business but three key reasons include the purposeful redesign of Ohio's business climate, the state's world-class assets in advanced design, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing; and focused academic support that enables business success.

Read more about the award and why Ohio continues to beat out all the other states in the nation in the race for new business.

Cincinnati Leads the Nation in Green Building Innovations

With Cincinnati leading the pack, Ohio is emerging as a leader in the green building movement. Changing demographics and lifestyles are making green choices more popular, and the success of projects in Cincinnati shows that the future of building in Ohio is about making it green, building sustainable and competitive industries in the region.

Chad Edwards is 2010 president-elect of the US Green Building Council Cincinnati Regional Chapter and an architect with Emersion DESIGN in Cincinnati, whose office is certified LEED Platinum, the highest green rating available. He says Ohio's green business expansion started in 2004 with initiatives to build new schools to LEED standards. In fact, Ohio was one of the first states to mandate LEED construction for schools. As a result of Ohio’s leadership in the area, Ohio now has more LEED certified schools than California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico and Florida combined.

Click here to learn more about Cincinnati’s green building boom.

Advanced Energy Business Incubator to Expand Ohio’s Technological Strengths

Millions in state and federal funding has recently been secured to launch a green and advanced energy business incubator in Warren, Ohio. The purpose of the incubator is to help foster the development of technology businesses in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. Essentially, the businesses spawned from the incubator will produce parts for geothermal, solar and nuclear energy plants, increasing the number of tech jobs in the state.

The Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition (Nortech) will be lending its expertise on the incubator project. Rebecca Bagley, president and CEO of Cleveland-based Nortech, said that over the next 10 months Nortech will help to identify the site for the incubator. Nortech will also help the incubator's 26-person steering committee develop an operational plan.

So far, nearly $3 million has been secured for the project. About $2.2 million in federal funds will be used to help equip the site. Another $500,000 in state funds has been earmarked to purchase the incubator building. Operating capital is expected to come from both federal and state dollars, including Ohio Third Frontier, a bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technology business.

Click here to learn more about the advanced energy business incubator in Warren, Ohio.

Ohio Fosters Career Development in Advanced Energy Sector

What is a talented material science and engineering graduate to do in Ohio? Just ask Ryan Wayne. Ohio Third Frontier’s support of fuel cell technology helped him land a position researching fuel cells with the Case Advanced Power Institute at Case Western Reserve University, where he was working towards his master’s degree.

Ryan’s experience working with fuel cells as a graduate student eventually landed him a job as a scientist with GrafTech, a 120 year-old company located in Parma, Ohio that has recently transformed its business to accommodate the advanced energy industry of the 21st century. At GrafTech, Ryan develops components for fuel cells and other advanced electrochemical devices.

Recently, Ryan spoke with us about how Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technological strengths, helped launch his career. He said, “By supporting research in emerging fields and encouraging collaboration between Ohio’s universities and industry, Ohio Third Frontier creates employment opportunities for researchers on the leading edge of technology, helping reverse the brain drain from our state.”

Ryan believes that Ohio Third Frontier helps create high-tech, “green” manufacturing jobs by encouraging established companies to expand their operations into the advanced energy sector. Ultimately, Ryan told me that he believes that Ohio Third Frontier will be successful in its long-term mission to create the technology clusters that will establish Ohio as a world leader in advanced and renewable energy.

To read my full interview with Ryan, click here.

Ohio Leads the Race in Green Automotive Innovations

The automotive future is looking brighter – and greener – thanks in part to a group of engineering students from The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research (CAR). Recently, these students set a land speed record of 300 mph for a vehicle – the Buckeye Bullet 2— powered by hydrogen fuels cells. Talk about product innovation, this record-breaking fast car generates zero emissions!

The Ohio State University (OSU) is no stranger to setting land speed records with alternative energy vehicles. OSU's original Buckeye Bullet set the record as the first electric vehicle to go 300 mph. Of course, there is a difference between building a car for speed, and building one that provides sustained speed and power over a longer distance. The good news, though, is that commuter cars don't need to go 300 mph. The fact that it is possible could lead to future interest and product innovation in all-electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

In the past few months, the CARs team has also developed a solar-powered vehicle that gets the equivalent of 2,000 MPG – again, with zero emissions. The CAR team also recently took first place in the 2009 EcoCAR NeXt Challenge for their design of an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) powered by a 1.8-liter engine and fueled by E85 ethanol – a blended fuel comprised of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. The EcoCAR NeXt challenge was sponsored by the US Department of Energy and General Electric among others.

The CARs program is just one example of Ohio’s investment in product innovation that leverages the state’s traditional manufacturing strengths to create the 21st century jobs and industries that will power the state’s economy while creating a sustainable energy future. Click here to learn more about Ohio’s nationally recognized work in advanced energy innovations.