Orlando, Fla. — A coalition of Northeast Ohio plastics companies, governments and universities is hoping to secure at least $40 million in federal funding to become a national technology hub for sustainable polymers.
The group, the Polymer Industry Cluster in Akron, Ohio, secured $400,000 in seed money from Washington last year as part of a program to identify and support potential technology hubs around the country.
At a May 7 event at NPE2024 in Orlando, they said they're competing for at least $40 million in additional federal funding to take their plans to the next step.
Cluster members, including materials supplier Avient Corp., said the group hopes to strengthen ties among the 500 plastics and rubber firms within an hour drive of Akron and help the industry transition to more sustainable plastics manufacturing.
One strength, they said, is the size of the industry now in the region. Northeast Ohio is the densest grouping of plastic, polymer and rubber manufacturing in North and South America, said Brian Anderson, vice president of the polymer industry cluster at the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce.
Panelists drew parallels to the 1940s, when they said federal support and direction during World War II built up the synthetic rubber industry in Akron, after the war exposed dependence on natural rubber supplies from Asia.
They see a similar chance to build up the sustainable polymers industry, with federal direction.
"What we're excited about now is that there's a new opportunity, and instead of having the pressure of a World War on our shoulders, our pressure is to think about how the sustainability of polymers helps us become a leader in not just the nation but the world's economy so that we can think differently about the nature of plastics and how they can be recycled," said Suzie Graham Moore, economic development director with the city of Akron.
"We're moving from our heritage as a rubber city and evolving into a polymer city," she said.
In November 2023, the cluster was one of 31 programs around the country to secure initial seed funding in a U.S. Department of Commerce program to identify potential technology hubs. The Commerce Department is expected to further narrow that list later this year.
Amit Kulkarni, global technology director for Avient, said a beefed-up polymer cluster could help the region accelerate innovation and meet needs for skilled labor.
The effort relies closely on the University of Akron and its well-known plastics programs, which are part of the cluster, he said.
"Being at the table to leverage some of the emerging innovations coming out of academia is extremely attractive for an industry partner like us," Kulkarni said.
As well, he said a strengthened cluster can help the region better deal with challenges attracting and retaining talent.
"Coming out of COVID, I would say our industry as a whole is facing some new ground realities about trying to attract new talent to polymers, plastics and composite materials," he said.