General Nano receives $2 million from Ohio's Third Frontier

General Nano LLC, a Hamilton County-based maker of carbon nanotube yarn, received nearly $2 million in funding from the Ohio Third Frontier Advanced Materials Program, contingent upon the approval of the State Controlling Board. General Nano plans to match the grant with its own $2.5 million investment.

The conductive yarn made by General Nano has aerospace and defense applications. Ohio Third Frontier's Advanced Materials Program provides companies with the funding they need to commercialize products and technologies for current and future high-tech uses. By doing so, Third Frontier builds up technological industries in Ohio and creates jobs.

"This award will assist General Nano in manufacturing their high-tech product, and supporting the aerospace and defense industry of Ohio and beyond," said Eric Fingerhut, Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and Chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. "This investment will not only help grow the advanced materials sector of our state, but also the economy of Southwest Ohio as a whole."

The General Nano award represents only a portion of the $12 million in Third Frontier funding pumped into Southwest Ohio's economy last week. The other recipients were a UC microfluidic displays project ($3 million) and an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster, or E-RIC ($7 million), collaborated on by a coalition of area universities and corporations.

Ohio Third Frontier is a bipartisan initiative of Ohio's Department of Development to create new technological industries, companies, and jobs. Since its 2002 inception, the Third Frontier has brought upwards of $4.76 billion in private investment to Ohio, and has seen a return on investment that approaches 9:1.  Ohio voters approved State Issue 1 on May 4, which extended an additional $700 million in public funding to Ohio Third Frontier.

Written by: Elena Stevenson
Source: Carolyn Pione, Cincy Tech; www.ohiothirdfrontier.com

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