Velocys, OSU secure Third Frontier dollars - Business First of Columbus:

Velocys, OSU secure Third Frontier dollars - Business First of Columbus:

A Battelle spinoff and Ohio State University’s Center for Automotive Research are moving forward with two key technology projects after securing a final OK for state funding.

The state Controlling Board approved a $4 million grant from Ohio’s Third Frontier program for Plain City-based Velocys Inc. The company is continuing development on its microchannel hydroprocessing technology, a process that converts waste to biofuels.

Velocys was founded in 2001 within Columbus research and development giant Battelle and last year was acquired by a United Kingdom firm.

The Controlling Board also approved the first $500,000 of $3 million in Third Frontier dollars headed to OSU’s automotive center. The university is working with a number of companies, including Columbus-based American Electric Power Company Inc. (NYSE:AEP), to develop market-ready electric vehicles, including buses and trucks. The grant, the center said, will pay for a new testing facility that will help speed the conversion from gas to electric.