Edison Welding Institute Awarded Nearly $1M to Launch Clean Energy Center

The federal government has awarded the Edison Welding Institute (EWI) close to $1 million to help launch an advanced energy manufacturing center in Columbus. The new center will be located within the existing EWI facility located on OSU’s west campus.

EWI recently conducted a survey of 300 Ohio companies and found that nearly two out of three are either selling components for advanced energy equipment and technology or want to enter this market. About 45 percent of companies surveyed said they lack the technology to engage in advanced energy manufacturing and would like help in doing so. EWI will coordinate with other Edison research institutes, universities and community colleges already involved in advanced energy development to avoid duplication of effort and to coordinate the state’s assets in product development, process engineering and manufacturing technologies.

EWI is requesting an additional $6 million per year over the next three years in state funding and will pursue additional federal funding. Eventually, the center could employ 50-100 people dedicated to advanced energy technology and manufacturing initiatives.

For more details, see the story in Business First: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/04/13/daily21.html?ed=2009-04-15&ana=e_du_pub