43
NE Ohio is ready to make materials, Ryan says
By GRACE WYLER
youngstown
The United States is on the brink of a green-energy revolution, and Northeast Ohio is poised to take advantage of the manufacturing opportunities that sustainable-energy industries will present, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, told about 100 academics, government leaders and clean-energy enthusiasts gathered for Youngstown State University’s Sustainable Energy Forum.
Ryan headlined the Monday discussion of national perspectives on sustainable energy, moderated by Martin Abraham, dean of YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM. He was joined by Anthony Cugini, director of the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory; Charles Lucius from the Battelle Institute in Columbus; and Matt Peterson, president of Global Green.
The manufacturing legacy of Northeast Ohio puts the region in a particularly good position to capitalize on new opportunities to make materials for emerging clean technology, Ryan said.
“For older industrial areas like ours, this is an opportunity,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way than to drive the economy than to put the millions of dollars that are currently leaving the country back into the Midwest, and re-creating a manufacturing center to produce the 8,000 component parts and 400 tons of steel that go into a windmill.”
The Mahoning Valley is starting to see results from investments in advanced- energy industries, Ryan said.
“We are already beginning to see positive results from strategic investments in advanced-energy industries in the 17th District,” he said. “These opportunities will only continue to increase as federal policy targets sustainable-energy production.”
The Sustainable Energy Forum, which included discussions on sustainable energy from international, national, state and industry perspectives, helps boost sustainable-energy businesses and development in the region, Ryan said.
“This forum is a great way for industry stakeholders to share research and network, all while promoting the transition to sustainable energy in our region,” he said.
Ryan helped kick off the forum at a formal signing and celebration of the formation of the Ohio Clean Technologies Group on Sunday.
The organization, a partnership between M-7 Technologies of Youngstown and Utah-based Applied Systems and Technology Transfer, is designed to help advanced-energy companies market and “commercialize” their products, said co-founder Jack Scott of Applied Systems and Technology Transfer.
Ohio Clean Technologies Group is finalizing the lease of a 20,000-square-foot facility at 1062 Ohio Works Drive, which the organization will use as an interim location until the group completes construction of their own facilities at M-7’s current site, Scott said.
After Monday’s forum events, Ohio Clean Technologies Group signed a partnership agreement with LN Technologies, an Israeli business incubator whose primary focus is clean-technology development. The two organizations will collaborate on development and commercialization strategies, Scott said.
The LN Technologies representatives are part of an Israeli group visiting Youngstown to discuss sustainable-energy business incubation, which also included Michael Epstein of Israel’s Weizmann Institute, who spoke at the forum Monday.
The Israeli delegation’s visit is in response to a trip that local business and government leaders made to Israel in January, Scott said.
A delegation from the China Council for Promotion of International Trade in China’s Shandong Province was scheduled to attend the conference but was unable to make the trip because of visa complications, said Eric Planey, vice president for international business attraction for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce, which arranged the visit.
The Sustainable Energy Forum will continue today with breakout sessions on topics including biofuels, liquid fuels and advanced materials, energy efficiency and energy storage, landfill and digester gas, fuel cells and electric vehicles, and wind and solar energy.