Akron wins again with more polymer cluster funding

Akron keeps on winning when it comes to garnering support for the regional polymer industry cluster centered in the Rubber City.

In July, Akron won $51 million in federal funding to advance the cluster for sustainable polymer technologies and production. Now, the state of Ohio has joined in with more than $30 million of additional funding for the region’s polymer cluster.

The money, which totals $31.25 million, will be used to fund the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub project, led by the Polymer Industry Cluster developed by the Greater Akron Chamber. It will be augmented by $10.4 million from local partners, which include dozens of local companies involved in the sector, the chamber stated in announcing the funding.

The cluster is the third applicant to win funding from Ohio’s Innovation Hubs Program. The program, run by the Ohio Department of Development, previously announced $35 million in funding for a defense-industry cluster in Dayton and more than $30 million for a glass-industry cluster centered in Toledo.

The Akron program will fund efforts to foster innovation in the polymer industry within the region; grow companies in the sector; attract new businesses and the talent they’ll need; and foster additional investments from companies within and outside the region.

Backers and proponents such as Akron Chamber CEO Steve Millard hope the governmental support will drive another $68 million of investment in the industry, create nearly 2,400 jobs in the Akron area, and develop new resources for companies in the sector to share.

Of the new state money, “approximately $25 million will support a Polymer Pilot Plant, a shared asset for the industry that will facilitate the scaling, testing, and prototyping of new materials. The remaining funds will be distributed to support work within the areas of R&D, work force, startups and staffing to support the longevity of the Polymer Industry Cluster and foster growth to enable future investments from the federal, state, and private level,” the chamber said in announcing the state funding.

Millard and Brian Anderson, the chamber’s vice president of the Polymer Industry Cluster, have been working with others at the chamber, the city and local companies for several years to create the results they’re now seeing.

“This accomplishment is a testament to the work and collaboration of the Polymer Industry Cluster over the last three years,” Millard said. “Since the consortium was formed in 2021, we estimated this work would take a $200 million investment over the next decade. And since then, we've been working to pinpoint ecosystem gaps and development opportunities in the polymer industry and lay out plans to drive growth and innovation. We look forward to hitting the ground running alongside our partners and seeing those plans come to fruition, especially with the positive economic impact it will have on our region.”

With the federal funding, state funding and matching funds—and assuming that extra $68 million in other investments is catalyzed as the chamber hopes—the effort will have already brought more than $160 million in grants and investments to the effort.

There are already signs it’s paying off. Bioverde, a Texas company that participated in the effort to secure federal funding, is moving the bulk of its operations to Akron.

Bioverde uses special bacteria to turn methane into Butadiene, which is an important feedstock for the tire and rubber industries. CEO Dave Witte said in July that he’s begun work to move the company’s operations to Akron—its administrative functions will remain in Texas—to take advantage of both the federal funding and the proximity to cheap methane from Ohio’s shale gas.

“This grant has enabled us to essentially move the operations to Ohio,” Witte said.

Four other companies also are either establishing or expanding operations in and around Akron, thanks to the federal grant, the chamber previously reported.

The chamber now hopes to continue such efforts.

“Our success is the direct result of a collaboration among our growing coalition of partners in business, economic development, and higher education, and garnered support from elected officials at every level of government who see the potential of this region,” Anderson said. “By creating the Ohio Innovation Hub program, the leadership of Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, (ODOD) Director Lydia Mihalik and the Ohio Legislature has put us in a position to drive sustained economic growth in our region.”