Columbus, OH  -- Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher today announced that more than $9 million in grants have been awarded to 13 entities for the advancement of fuel cell research and production in Ohio. The funds were awarded through the Third Frontier Fuel Cell Program (TFFCP) and are expected to result in the creation of 617 jobs.

Nine companies and research collaborations received awards to assist in the Research, Development, and Commercialization Projects of fuel cell technologies and four Ohio companies were awarded grants for fuel cell and related technology Market Readiness Demonstration projects.

"The projects awarded today are exemplary models of collaboration between industry, government, and universities," said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development and Chair of the Third Frontier Commission. "Governor Strickland and I are proud to support these collaborative endeavors that foster innovation and facilitate economic growth."

2007 TFFCP Award Recipients for Market Readiness Demonstrations Projects and Collaborators

University of Dayton, located in Dayton (Montgomery County) was awarded $499,966 for its Accelerated Testing Demonstration for Market Entry project, in which the University of Dayton will validate the real world reliability and application compatibility of the XX25â„¢ fuel cell that has been developed by UltraCell Corporation. UltraCell Corp is constructing a manufacturing facility in Vandalia, Ohio and is expected to create 235 jobs during the next three years. The collaborators on this project are: UltraCell Corp.; Motorola Labs Energy Technologies Group; Mound Technical Solutions; Daybreak; Montgomery County Department of Sanitary Engineering.

Catacel Corp., located in Garrettsville (Portage County) was awarded $400,473 for its Heat Exchanger Demonstration on TMI Fuel Cell System project, in which Catacel will demonstrate the implementation of its heat exchanger device on a solid oxide fuel cell developed by Technology Management, Inc. (TMI). Catacel projects that product sales will reach $15.5 million by 2012 and will create about 85 jobs for the heat exchanger product alone.

NexTech Materials, Ltd., located in Lewis Center (Delaware County) was awarded $250,000 for its H2S Sensor for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems project, in which NexTech will demonstrate its Hydrogen Sulfur (H2S) Sensor in Delphi's Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)-based products.

Cellex Power Products Corp., located in Anna (Shelby County) was awarded $500,000 for its Full Product Solution for the Adoption of Hydrogen Fuel Cells in Industrial Vehicles project, in which Cellex will demonstrate the market readiness of onsite hydrogen generation for fueling a fleet of fuel cell powered lift trucks. The collaborators on this project are BOC Group and OKI Systems.

2007 TFFCP Award Recipients for Research, Development & Commercialization Projects and Collaborators

American Trim, located in Lima (Allen County) was awarded $1 million for its Agile Low-Cost Manufacture of Fuel Cell Plates via Electromagnetic Forming project, in which American Trim will use high velocity electromagnetic forming (HVEF) to produce usable prototype bipolar plates that have all the required flowfield features. At the conclusion of this project, American Trim expects to have the design and manufacturing parameters required to produce commercial quantities of fuel cell plates sufficient to support a full production line employing 270 people. The collaborators on this project include General Motors Corporation and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University.

Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (US) Inc., located in North Canton (Stark County) was awarded $998,870 for its Establishing Ohio-Based Manufacturing and Supply-Chain for a 250 kW Fuel Processing Subsystem for a 1-Megawatt Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System project, in which Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (RRFCS) will attempt to reduce the cost and prepare for the manufacture of the External Fuel Processor, an important sub-system of the 1 Megawatt fuel cell power system that is currently being developed by RRFCS. The collaborators on this project are SOFCo-EFS Holdings (SOFCo) and Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC).

UltraCell of Ohio, located in Dayton (Montgomery County) was awarded $999,125 for its Fuel Cell Systems for Extended Run Times project. UltraCell has developed a reformed methanol fuel cell known as the XX25â„¢ that it plans to commercialize in 2007. The collaborators on this project are: Select International Corporation; University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI); and Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC).

Mound Technical Solutions, Inc., located in Miamisburg (Montgomery County) was awarded $494,040 for its Enhancement of Comprehensive Fuel Cell Test System Products project. Mound Technical Solutions proposes to complete its development and testing of a comprehensive fuel cell test system (CFCTS). The collaborators on this project are: Inorganic Specialists, Inc.; University of Dayton Research Institute; Miamisburg Mound Community Improvement Corporation; Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC); John Hogan (self); and Tom Hoying (self).

Wellman Products Group, located in Solon (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $1 million for its Fuel Cell Stack Subassembly Manufacturing in Ohio project. This project will create a manufacturing line at Wellman's Medina operation that will allow the company to supply collaborator, United Technologies Corporation Power (UTC) with advanced components for its next generation phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC).

Catacel Corp., located in Garrettsville (Portage County) was awarded $613,457 for its Novel Fuel Desulfurizer-embedded Processor for Sulfur-laden Logistics Fuels project, in which Catacel will develop an effective solid-phase sulfur-tolerant sorbent that can be coated onto metal foil. The collaborator on this project is the University of Toledo. Catacel expects the project to lead to the creation of 27 new jobs by 2012.

Edison Welding Institute, Inc., located in Columbus (Franklin County) was awarded $999,962 for its Metal Interconnects for Fuel Cells project. The project will establish the capability to design, assess, prototype, and manufacture metallic interconnects for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). The collaborators on this project are: NexTech Materials; F.C. Brengman; Mound Laser and Photonics Center; and Plug Power.

Velocys, Inc., located in Plain City (Franklin County) was awarded $1 million for its Advanced Reforming Technology for Fuel Cell Enabled Industrial Vehicles project, in which Velocys will complete development and commercialization of its microchannel reactor as a stationary hydrogen generator for fuel cell applications. Collaborator QuestAir Technologies will supply the pressure swing absorption unit.

Contained Energy, Inc., located in Shaker Heights (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $1 million for its Development of Direct Carbon Fuel Cell Systems with Breakthrough Energy Density for Mobile Defense and Security Applications project. Contained Energy, Inc. (CEI) has exclusively licensed the Direct Carbon Fuel Cell (DCFC) technology (up to 100 Megawatts) from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The collaborators on this project are: Case Western Reserve University; University of Akron; Army Research Laboratory; Foster-Miller; University of Dayton Research Institute; The Davey Tree Expert Company; Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR), Robotics; Powdermet, Inc.; Cuyahoga Community College; and National City Bank.

Created in 2002, the Ohio Fuel Cell Initiative is a $103 million program that aims to spur job creation in Ohio while positioning the state as a national leader in the growing fuel cell industry. The initiative is an integral part of the Third Frontier Project, a $1.6 billion high-tech research program designed to create jobs and bring new products to market.

To date, more than $62 million in funds have been awarded to Fuel Cell projects across the state.