State panel OKs grant for Delphi-YSU venture

Special to The Vindicator

COLUMBUS

The state Controlling Board signed off Monday on a $1 million grant for an effort by Delphi Automotive in Warren and Youngstown State University to develop improved battery cables for use in electric and hybrid vehicles.

The company hopes to manufacture, within about two years, an aluminum conductor cable to replace the more-expensive copper cables used in vehicles, according to documents.

The total project will cost more than $2.3 million, with Delphi and YSU sharing the balance.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission approved the funding request at its meeting in January.

Monday’s Controlling Board action drew praise from state Rep. Tom Letson, a Democrat from Warren.

In a released statement, he said: “This partnership will help usher in a new era of green manufacturing in Trumbull County. Development is important, especially when it builds on relationships that we already have here in the Valley. ... We need lasting jobs, and green manufacturing is the way to create them.”