ECONOMIC IMPACT
The development and commercialization of fuel cell vehicles will be a powerful driver of economic growth, business and job creation for those cities, regions and states in which fuel cell vehicles and components are designed and manufactured.
Kettering University is very excited about the opportunity to help make Flint a major contributor to the development and manufacture of the next generation of fuel cell powered vehicles.
The Center is aimed at making Flint and Michigan the location of choice for the world’s leading power electronics firms and fuel cell and automotive manufacturers by investing in the critical building blocks of economic development: R&D, physical and technical infrastructure, workforce skills, and the creation of a network of innovative fuel cell companies and supporting organizations. The Center will lead Michigan and the nation in educating current and future generations of engineers to design, test and manufacture fuel cell vehicles, and collaborate with community colleges to educate the automotive manufacturing and service technicians of tomorrow.
The Center also is adjacent to Kettering’s industrial research park, which is designated as a Tax Free Enterprise Zone. The Center’s leading edge capabilities and expertise, combined with the financial incentives provided by the Enterprise Zone designation, will help attract the leading fuel cell manufacturers, and power electronics firms to relocate in Michigan, and increase the state’s role in vehicle assembly.
The Center will conduct leading edge R&D to overcome technical barriers to commercialization of fuel cell vehicles, provide critical infrastructure—including unique laboratories and a testing center—without which fuel cell vehicles cannot be manufactured, and skills development for automotive engineers and manufacturing and service technicians.
The Center also will build and foster alliances among the world’s leading fuel cell developers, manufacturers, suppliers and customers, as well as Federal and State agencies, to support industrial R&D, transfer technology, overcome technical barriers, and speed the commercial introduction of fuel cell vehicles. In addition, incubator support will be provided to promising innovators for R&D, testing and technology spin-offs into Kettering University’s research park.
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