“Fuel cells are a very strong technology,” Swenson, EMTEC’s vice president for business initiatives, said Tuesday, Aug. 17. “But it’s a technology that has to find its place in the marketplace.”
UltraCell, a California-based company, was recruited to Dayton in 2006 and started up its first fuel cell manufacturing plant in 2007 at Dayton International Airport.
The company abruptly closed the plant Friday, Aug. 13, giving the Ohio Department of Development just three days notice of UltraCell’s decision to consolidate operations in California. Keith Scott, UltraCell’s chief executive officer, didn’t return calls for comment. The shutdown cost 14 jobs.
UltraCell develops a cigarette pack-sized fuel cells for the Air Force Research Laboratory as portable power sources for battlefield troops, and planned to serve civilian markets including power sources for laptop computers. Fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, are also useful as power sources for industry.
The state Development Department and the Dayton Development Coalition said the loss of UltraCell won’t stop efforts to build the industry.
The state is already considered a major provider of fuel cell components. Rolls-Royce, the British manufacturer, consolidated its U.S. and European fuel cells in North Canton to work with Stark State College’s Fuel Cell Prototyping Center.
The University of Dayton Research Institute and Miamisburg-based Mound Technical Solutions Inc., partners with UltraCell in fuel cell research funded by the state’s technology-supporting Third Frontier program, will continue their work along with Select Industries Corp. and others that supported UltraCell, officials said.
Crown Equipment Corp., a lift truck maker, received more than $1 million in Third Frontier funding to develop lift trucks powered by fuel cells, which are more quickly refueled and environmentally cleaner. Crown’s fuel cell testing center is in Huber Heights.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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