The funding is being given via the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Chips and Science Act, which Brown helped write and was initially sponsored in the U.S. House by former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Youngstown.
“This is a major win for Akron. Akron beat out nearly 500 other applicants from every corner of the country because no one does manufacturing like Ohio workers,” said Brown in announcing the award.
“It was put together by local governments, the Akron Chamber, the University of Akron, my office, organized labor — and we had exactly these things in mind when we wrote the Chips and Science Act,” he later added in an interview.
Akron is one of 12 hubs nationwide to get the funding and is receiving far more than the $17 million the same group of backers had hoped for in 2022 when they were finalists for funds under the Build Back Better Act.
The new money will go toward seven local initiatives, including five commercialization projects, said Chamber Vice President of the Polymer Industry Cluster Brian Anderson.
Those five projects hope to take promising and fairly mature technologies “across the finish line” and into commercialization, he said. Those include projects to:
- Commercialize end-of-life tires or their components, led by Full Circle Technologies of Akron.
- Develop sustainable polymer composites via liquid-phase mixing, led by Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
- Develop an anti-degradant for tires and plastics to protect them from things like Ozone, being done by Flexsys America in Akron.
- Manufacture sustainable bio-based Butadiene to produce green, synthetic rubber, by California-based BioVerde.
- Advance the formulation of carbon nanotube-based polymer composites, by Huntsman Corp. Texas.
What are companies from Texas and California doing on the list? They’re establishing operations here to be part of the hub, and to work with the funding, Anderson said.
That was a point of forming the cluster to begin with, he said — to not only support local companies in the sector but to attract new ones and create more partnerships and business opportunities along the way.
“They will do the work here,” Anderson said of Hunstman and BioVerde. “One thing we’re excited about is the ability of this award to immediately attract polymer businesses to our region … it’s like a beacon.”
In addition to those five projects, the University of Akron, Kent State, Case Western Reserve University, Stark State College and Central State University will receive funding for a sustainable workforce imitative.
The last grant will go to the chamber itself, which it will use to continue work on and for the polymer cluster, Anderson said.
The amount of money awarded varies from one initiative to the next and Anderson did not yet have a breakdown. But he said the amounts will vary between $2 million and $12 million.
“Specific projects require specific equipment and levels of programming,” Anderson said.
Meanwhile, the Chamber and the cluster might not be done yet. They’re still waiting to hear from the State of Ohio’s Innovation Hub program to see if the cluster wins $35 million in state funding to build a prototype center for polymer development at the University of Akron.
Anderson’s not counting on that money yet but, given the Fed’s award and the cluster’s reputation in Columbus, he’s hopeful. Adding to that hope is that the Chamber has lined up corporate support to provide the matching $12 million it will need if it wins the $35 million, which Anderson said is the maximum amount the cluster could apply for.
The state’s decision is expected to be announced at any time now, Anderson said.
Under the Chips and Science Act, the cluster had originally asked for $70 million to fund eight initiatives. But Anderson said he and those he’s worked with on the hub are far from disappointed and knew the award was not all-or-nothing and was likely to be trimmed if they won.
“Not at all,” Anderson said, when asked if he was let down. “We’re thrilled, we’re humbled, proud and really excited but we are not disappointed.”
He and the team might take a short breather for a day or two, he said, but “now the real work begins.”
Teams will begin meeting soon and work on the funded initiatives should begin in the fourth quarter of this year, Anderson said.
Brown, who no doubt was pleased to announce a big win for his home state during a year in which he’s up for re-election, said he and his staff lobbied hard for Akron’s award. The city’s expertise in polymers stands out when it’s considered and Brown said he wanted to make sure the Commerce Department did just that.
“My office wouldn’t let it not stand out, we were all over the commerce department about it,” Brown said.
Some corporate backers were also pleased.
Goodyear Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Laura Duda said her company has been and remains supportive of the cluster.
“Goodyear’s goals are well-aligned with those of the broader Polymer Industry Cluster. We are focused on creating technologies for a more sustainable future, including renewable and recyclable materials, as well as materials with a significantly reduced carbon footprint,” Duda said via email “We are excited about the ecosystem we are creating in Greater Akron to advance these goals.”
