COLUMBUS – With help from the federal government and industry leaders Honda and Schaeffler Americas, Ohio State is taking a major step into the electric vehicle field with a new battery cell research and development center.
The 25,000-sqaure-foot lab located in the university’s innovation district is intended to speed up the domestic development of battery cell materials and manufacturing technologies while also training an advanced battery technology workforce, university and government leaders announced Monday.
Honda has committed $15 million of the $22 million already pledged for the center, along with $4.5 million in federal funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Extramural Construction program. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Representatives Joyce Beatty and Mike Carey worked to secure the federal money.
The federal funding will support a 4,000-square-foot “dry room,” which is necessary for the assembly of battery cells due to the extreme moisture sensitivity of cell components.
The aim of the center, slated to open in April 2025, is to create a hub for academic and industry connections across chemical and physical sciences, engineering, business and policy.
Officials hope the project will create a pipeline of trained workers while also attracting electric vehicle battery manufacturing and supply chain businesses to help support the emerging EV industry.
The center will be managed and operated at Ohio State by the Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research.