Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik visited the Greater Akron Chamber on Thursday to announce $31.25 million in state funding for the new Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub project.
“This is a big deal,” DeWine said to a room of stakeholders, including business leaders and local and state elected officials, as well as media.
The project is being led by the Polymer Industry Cluster at the Chamber.
Over the next seven years, the cluster expects the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub to create nearly 2,400 new jobs in the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area of Summit and Portage counties, 500 STEM credentials and “$68 million of catalyzed additional investment in the polymer industry,” according to a news release from the Greater Akron Chamber.
Local partners will provide $10.4 million in additional, matched funding, per the release.
What will the funding do?
At the Thursday announcement, DeWine said the hub’s “partners will work to create polymer innovations that support the electrical vehicle supply chain, improve medical devices, make them less invasive; advance semiconductor performance; contribute to a more sustainable future.”