Buoyed by $1 million state grant, UltraCell powers up
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
DAYTON — Frank Beafore, UltraCell's vice president, manufacturing, feels more at home than ever.
A $1 million grant from Ohio government can have that effect on people.
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Beafore calls the grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission "a real vote of confidence" in his fledgling Old Springfield Road operation at the Dayton International Airport.
But Beafore is quick to point out that 1) nobody is writing UltraCell a $1 million check, and 2) UltraCell and its partners earned every cent.
The grant goes not just to Livermore, Calif.-based UltraCell, but to collaborators such as the University of Dayton Research Institute, Mound Technologies and robotics specialist Invotec.
To get the grant, Beafore and his colleagues underwent a painstaking application process, drafting a technical "white paper" and answering a lengthy list of questions from an independent panel.
"I could immediately tell when I saw that list that somebody did their homework," Beafore said in an interview at his office, surrounded by sketches of early Wright Brothers fliers.
And the grant recipients won't actually receive $1 million. They may bill against the grant, Beafore said.
The investment will be used to further develop the micro fuel cells in which UltraCell specializes. Powered by hydrogen, such cells can run laptops and communication equipment while weighing less than conventional batteries.
The cells' sole waste product is water, but the idea is long-lasting portability, particularly for surveillance and emergency communication uses.
Emerging customers include Homeland Defense and the military, Beafore said.
The company has about 13 Dayton employees today, but the Third Frontier grant will help it move toward 25 to 30 by the end of 2008.
But Beafore cautions that moving a new idea from lab to production is never a "linear process."
"I cannot look (ahead) 10 years because the whole world is going to change," Beafore said.
