The
Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition wants to let the world know Ohio is the global center of fuel cell technology.
"We have all the assets to really allow the industry to survive," says Pat Valente, executive director of the OFCC, the largest state association of its type in the US. Valente expects the state's industry to "explode in the not-so-distant future."
Fuel cells are efficient, low-emission power sources that use renewable and non-renewable fuels. Energy sources include: solar, wind, water and geothermal sources; hydrogen; traditional fuels; ethanol, methanol, landfill gas and methane; and innovative materials such as algae, peanut shells and industrial gases. Fuel cells are utilized in hybrid cars and buses, residential power, and military and industrial machinery. Transit authorities in Cleveland and Columbus have launched fleets of hybrid buses using Ohio-grown fuel cell technology.
Last year,
Fuel Cells 2000 , a Washington, D.C., organization promoting fuel cell technology, released "State of the States: Fuel Cells in America," a report compiled from public records, websites and contact with state and industry representatives. The report noted that a "focus on business attraction and development, building supply chain and manufacturing base," makes Ohio one of the top five fuel cell producing states in the nation.
Valente cites research and development from companies and universities, the state's low cost of doing business, and "the best supply chain in the country, maybe the world. One of the things they say is 'there's not a fuel cell made that doesn't use an Ohio supplier.'"
Valente estimates that the industry employs some 3,000 Ohio workers, with $80 million in
Ohio Third Frontier funds designated for fuel cell development.
"Ohio's Third Frontier Fuel Cell Program has resulted in the creation or retention of 295 jobs with an average salary of $61,651�(and) a leverage ratio of 4.5, meaning that for every dollar spent the state attains $4.50 in benefits," according to the Ohio Department of Development 2009 "Fuel Cell Roadmap" report.
"If anything, we need to stay the course in fuel cell development in Ohio," says Valente.
Sources: Fuel Cells 2000, Federal Transit Administration, Central Ohio Transit Authority, Ohio Fuel Cell Corridor, Pat Valente
Writer: Kitty McConnell