Akron, Ohio — Any attempt by President Donald Trump's administration to freeze the dispersion of federal grant funding could have implications for thePolymer Industry Cluster's Polymer Tech Hub, which has as much as $3 million in federal funding on the line.
At the start of 2025, the sustainable technology hub was awarded the $3 million federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Good Jobs Challenge, along with a $3.4 million local match from partners Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, MAGNET, Manufacturing Works and Stark State College.
That funding is just a small part of the $100 million the Polymer Tech Hub has secured from a combination of federal, state and local governments, corporations and other sources.
But the impact of any freeze on federal funding is still up in the air, particularly now that the administration has rescinded the original White House Office of Management and Budget order that caused confusion about what kinds of federal funding would be impacted.
According to the White House, the original freeze did not "apply across-the-board."
"It is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the president's Executive Orders, such as ending DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest," a Jan. 28 White House fact sheet states.
Despite this attempt for clarification, the effects of the freeze were still widely unknown, Crain's Cleveland reported.
Non-profit groups immediately responded to the original memo with a lawsuit challenging the move. In response, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan temporarily paused the Trump administration's plans to freeze federal funding through at least 5 p.m. Feb. 3, saying that it is "a way of preserving the status quo" as she considers the challenges brought by non-profit groups.
The White House contends that, by rescinding the memo, the legal action and temporary pause on the freeze are voided.
For now, though, the Polymer Tech Hub is in a holding pattern to see if any of its funding would be affected by the funding freeze.
"We continue to monitor the news, including the recent development that a federal judge temporarily blocked the halt," a spokesperson for the Polymer Industry Cluster told Rubber News in a written statement. "At this time, we do not have additional information to share."
The Polymer Industry Cluster includes representatives from Northeast Ohio's higher education, industry and economic development spheres who come together with the aim of strengthening the region's polymer work force, innovation, business and operations. The group has placed particular emphasis on sustainability.