Bounce Innovation Hub in Akron will soon launch a business accelerator for startup polymer companies, among an array of technology, research and worker-training pursuits heralded by the funding bonanza landed in 2024 by Akron鈥檚 Polymer Industry Cluster.
The collaboration of 116 public and private partners, including dozens of rubber, plastics and chemical companies, attracted $100 million in federal, state and local funding. It鈥檚 strong evidence that the four-year-old cluster, led by the Greater Akron Chamber, can build on Akron鈥檚 rubber and tire legacy to deliver sorely needed innovation, growth and jobs to the region.
One of the first funded efforts is $5 million for Bounce鈥檚 Synthe6 Materials Accelerator for polymer startups, operating out of Bounce鈥檚 300,000-square-foot technology incubator and headquarters in downtown Akron. Bounce is leading efforts by the polymer cluster to spur growth and investment in dozens of new companies in the next decade. Bounce is testing the Synthe6 polymer accelerator now with four young companies.
鈥淭he goal is to help them get their product to market faster,鈥欌�� said Elyse Ball, Vice President, Programming at Bounce. 鈥淭hat might include helping them to raise capital, to get their product built, to interact with customers. There are a lot of ways. The whole idea is to move faster.鈥�
Bounce鈥檚 Synthe6 Materials Accelerator is funded under the $31.25 million Ohio Innovation Hubs program, announced in September 2024. Back then, business, higher-ed and elected leaders were already smiling over the $51 million in federal Tech Hubs money the polymer cluster won last July under President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration.
The jubilance has ebbed, replaced with concern as President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration reviews all federal spending for what it deems waste. That scrutiny includes billions of dollars doled out under the CHIPS and Science Act 鈥� the source of the $51 million in federal Tech Hubs money that Akron鈥檚 polymer was awarded.
The federal funds are intended to pay for advancing innovative technologies, training workers and managing the polymer cluster. Steve Millard, CEO and president of the Greater Akron Chamber, said he believes the projects should continue and be largely unaffected given the Tech Hub鈥檚 focus on fostering manufacturing success for the U.S. Some specific goals related to inclusion may have to be modified, Millard said, due to the Trump administration鈥檚 stance against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The chamber is awaiting further guidance.
鈥淚 believe that these projects will all go forward pretty much intact,鈥� Millard said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you I have certainty about it though.鈥�
Moving forward on Ohio鈥檚 Innovation Hub
Millard is more certain about the state鈥檚 $31.25 million grant to the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub, matched by $11 million in private, philanthropic and Summit County funds. The Akron chamber recently signed a contract with the state for the hub, one of four in Ohio.
Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Development launched the state鈥檚 Innovation Hubs program in 2023. The $125 million program is designed to boost legacy industries in metro areas outside of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. In Akron, the legacy link is polymers 鈥� the large, long-chained molecules that give materials like rubber and plastics strength, flexibility and durability.
Besides Akron, hubs have been established in the Toledo area for the glass industry; the Dayton area for digital technologies in aviation and national defense; and the Youngstown area for 3-D printing of aerospace and defense materials.
Ohio Innovation Hub partnerships must include universities, businesses, local governments and business-development organizations like Bounce, whose offerings for entrepreneurs include business-development programs, one-on-one guidance, an advisory network and co-working space.
Bounce officials said companies in the Synthe6 Materials Accelerator will spend a year working with mentors and business experts, building business acumen, researching potential customers and markets, gaining access to professional services, and getting help raising capital. Synthe6 will be among only a few polymer-focused business accelerators worldwide, Ball said. (Synthe6 is a play on the word 鈥渟ynthesis鈥� with the 6 representing carbon, the sixth element on the periodic table.)
Founders of polymer startups typically hold master鈥檚 degrees or doctorates but are green when it comes to business.
鈥淭hese are brilliant people but they typically have little business training,鈥� Ball said.
Unlike software startups, polymer companies often need more time and technical support, said Bounce CEO Jessica Sublett.
鈥淵our average investor is not always going to invest in a polymer company because the path to market is a little longer, not quite as clear,鈥� Sublett said.
Accelerator participants can expect access to testing labs and manufacturing equipment they couldn鈥檛 afford otherwise as they refine and scale their products and technologies, Ball said.
A distinguishing feature of the accelerator 鈥渋s helping companies make technical progress at a lower price point than they might have in other regions, just because this region is such a rich ecosystem in terms of equipment and expertise,鈥� Ball said.
Bounce has been testing the accelerator concept since late last year. Founders of four polymer-related startups have been meeting monthly with mentors, including veteran entrepreneurs and polymer industry executives. The four companies could be among the first cohort of six to eight companies that will launch the accelerator in the coming months, officials said.
One of the startups is Auxilium Health, Inc., co-founded by Isaiah Kaiser and Aparna Agrawal, both of whom earned PhDs at the University of Akron. They want to market a wound dressing 鈥� specifically, a multi-layered, biopolymer aerogel 鈥� that prevents infection, changes colors if infection is detected, and helps tissue regenerate. The company has drawn more than $1 million in investment, including a recent $275,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation.
Auxilium has already participated in two business accelerators, one on medical devices and the other on health technology. With Bounce, Kaiser has met with three industry veterans whom he described as operating like an advisory board. The polymers emphasis has been valuable, Kaiser said.
鈥淲e can really dig into some of the technological challenges that we will face,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is not new territory or new problems for a lot of these (mentors) 鈥� whether it's on the sterilization of the product, on manufacturing, or for potential supply chain issues, distributors, things like that.
鈥淏ecause we are on the biopolymers side, having mentors and advisors 鈥� who have worked with more materials than devices, it just brings a different level of expertise and understanding and knowledge,鈥� Kaiser said.
The importance that accelerators bring 鈥渋s the network and the connections. 鈥� We鈥檙e really still building up our networks. These programs help expand that and introduce us to a lot of amazing folks,鈥� Kaiser said.
Bounce has also applied for a $5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. This program helps organizations like Bounce support entrepreneurs as they build technology-driven businesses. Ball said the money would go to business-development efforts at the University of Akron Research Foundation and at MAGNET, a manufacturing-support organization in Cleveland.
Besides the Bounce polymer accelerator, the Ohio Innovation Hubs money is slated for four other industry-building efforts:
- $25 million for a polymer pilot plant
This building, to be constructed somewhere near the University of Akron, will provide labs and equipment to entrepreneurs and researchers pursuing new materials and technologies. About 40 companies are being surveyed on how they would use the pilot plant, Millard said. A site and detailed design should be ready by June. The plant should 鈥渟timulate additional investment and opportunity with other companies that might want to locate in the area,鈥� Millard said.
- $8 million for industry-driven research and development
The money would go to polymer innovations in mobility, health care, industrial materials, energy and electronics/semiconductors. Scientists in the Akron Polymer Cluster, from both businesses and universities, are soliciting and evaluating research ideas and should be ready to move forward in 45 to 60 days, Millard said.
- $2 million for workforce development
This money is focused on recruiting, training and placing area residents in jobs that provide careers with solid pay and benefits. This includes jobs that might require a credential or certification but not a college degree. The polymer cluster鈥檚 Workforce Committee and ConxusNEO, which links employers with talent, lead this effort.
- $2 million to manage and staff the hub and cluster activities
Work includes assembling a leadership team, lending technical expertise to cluster partners, and seeking more investments for the cluster鈥檚 growth, according to the Akron chamber. Millard said the cluster should have an executive director in place soon. Brian Anderson, widely recognized for his work overseeing the cluster for the Akron chamber, left late last year.
The Ohio Innovation Hubs funding will be available until 2031. By then, the hub must meet metrics, including 2,400 new jobs, 500 trained workers and $75 million in research funding, or risk having the state claw back the funding, according to the agreement.
Federal funds for sustainable manufacturing
While the state-funded Ohio Innovation Hub progresses, the $51 million federally funded effort, matched by $7 million from businesses and universities, is moving more slowly.
The Biden administration, through the Economic Development Administration, approved funding for the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub last July. It was among a dozen Tech Hubs funded nationwide under the CHIPS and Science Act. The Tech Hubs goal 鈥渋s to strengthen U.S. economic and national security鈥� with 鈥渋nvestments in regions with the assets, resources, capacity, and potential to become globally competitive鈥� within a decade, according to an EDA news release.
The aim of Akron鈥檚 Polymer Innovation Tech Hub 鈥渋s to tackle the severe climate and environmental impacts resulting from the use of fossil fuel-derived polymers through accelerating sustainable polymer manufacturing and commercialization,鈥� the news release said.
Efforts to cut the use of fossil fuels to prevent climate change will likely draw scrutiny from a Trump administration that advocates for fossil fuels and is rolling back climate change initiatives. Officials at EDA could not be reached for comment.
Steve Millard with the Akron chamber said the Trump administration鈥檚 stance in these areas 鈥済ives me a little bit of pause鈥� about the federal Tech Hub鈥檚 funding. But he believes the seven projects in Akron 鈥� five involving synthetic rubber and related materials 鈥� will move forward because they align with the polymer industry鈥檚 future.
鈥淪upply chains all over the world are looking to reduce (carbon dioxide) footprint and the reliance on fossil fuels,鈥� Millard said. 鈥淲e're not going to eliminate fossil fuels from the work that's happening in the polymer sector, but finding ways to be more and more recyclable, more renewable, more sustainable, I think are part of every large company's goal set over the next 10 to 15 years.鈥�
Two of the seven projects 鈥� $8 million for workforce development, led by the University of Akron, and $3.4 million for cluster staffing and leadership, led by the Akron chamber 鈥� had signed EDA funding agreements by early December. Businesses leading the five manufacturing projects signed EDA agreements in January, Millard said.
The combined $100 million awarded last year to Akron's Polymer Cluster will 鈥渢ake us from where we are today to where we know we can be: a well-oiled machine of continuous, compound economic growth and game-changing innovation.鈥�Steve Millard, President and CEO, Greater Akron Chamber
The University of Akron is teaming with local businesses and universities 鈥� Kent State University, Case Western Reserve University, Stark State College and Central State University 鈥� to set new training and curriculum in sustainable polymer technologies and manufacturing.
The collaborative effort, called Workforce Initiative for a Sustainable Environment (WISE), will offer training certificates and credentials, as well as classes in two-year, four-year, and graduate-level programs, said Suzanne Bausch, Vice President for Research and Business Engagement at the University of Akron. The university already has a well regarded that has supplied lots of talent to the polymer cluster.
Life-cycle management will be a big emphasis, Bausch said. That entails studying and lessening the environmental impact of rubber and plastic products, from the sourcing of raw materials until the end of the products鈥� use. The industry identified a talent gap in that area, Bausch said.
The university has posted a job for a life-cycle assessment expert, Bausch said. Some of the funding would be used to help students and industry professionals pay for training and classes, as well as job placement, Bausch said.
Business in the lead
Businesses will lead and invest in five other projects slated to receive the federal Tech Hub funding. The projects address environmentally harmful aspects of rubber and plastic production with technologies that are in the later stages of development, officials said. The companies and the project funding are:
- Bioverde Tech LLC, $12.3 million
This Houston-based startup company will open a facility near the University of Akron to scale up a technology that uses methane-consuming organisms to produce butadiene. A colorless gas typically derived from petroleum and natural gas, butadiene lends pliability and durability to tires and other rubber and plastic products. The project鈥檚 10-year potential includes 500 new jobs, two new production facilities and reductions of hundreds of thousands of tons in carbon dioxide and methane, according to a project description. - Huntsman Corporation, $6.7 million
This international chemicals company wants to buy equipment for its Akron plant. It would be used to validate production of carbon black and high-performance, carbon nanotube materials. Carbon black contributes to the strength and durability of tires. Carbon nanotubes are latticed tubes of carbon atoms used to create lightweight, durable composites, with use in the automotive and aerospace industries. The 10-year potential of the project includes 975 jobs created, $100 million in private investment, two new production facilities and an annual reduction of 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, according to a project description. - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., $10.4 million
Goodyear, headquartered in Akron, wants to scale up an energy-efficient, liquid stage mixing process for tire production. Liquid stage mixing complements conventional dry mixing of rubber and filler compounds to yield a better-performing tire, according to industry reports. The project鈥檚 10-year potential includes 70 new jobs, $80 million in private investment, and a new production facility. - Flexsys America L.P., $11.4 million.
This international manufacturer of specialty chemicals, based in Akron, wants to buy equipment and boost its search for an environmentally safe replacement for its widely used product, 6PPD. The chemical additive prevents the degrading of tires. But it鈥檚 been found that 6PPD鈥檚 exposure to ozone resulted in a compound believed to be toxic to Pacific Northwest coho salmon, entering the environment through tire wear particles, according to the Flexsys website. The project鈥檚 10-year potential includes 100 jobs created, $75 million in private investment and the removal of 6PPD from tires and rubber products. - Full Circle Technologies, LLC, $5.6 million
Full Circle Technologies of Barberton, an industrial recycling company, has a patented process to recover usable rubber from scrap tires. Full Circle wants to build a laboratory and add equipment to commercialize the reclaimed rubber, including its use as an additive to asphalt. The 10-year potential of the project includes 1,274 jobs created, $274 million in private investment, dozens of tire-recycling facilities nationwide, and an estimated reduction of a half-million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Polymer cluster rising
Winning the big state and federal funding awards in 2024 were gratifying but not surprising for the Akron Polymer Cluster. It鈥檚 well on its way to achieving a major goal when the cluster formed in 2021 鈥� drawing $200 million in investments in a decade.
The combined $100 million awarded last year will 鈥渢ake us from where we are today to where we know we can be: a well-oiled machine of continuous, compound economic growth and game-changing innovation,鈥� Millard said on the Akron chamber website last year.
Millard is eager to get the work started and to get the word out. The polymer cluster is putting the finishing touches on a communications plan.
鈥淲e want to make sure people understand what's going on with the cluster, and that the cluster鈥檚 value is talked about more and that it鈥檚 more visible,鈥� Millard said.
