Today U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and government, university and industry leaders broke ground on Aiken County's Center For Hydrogen Research, a unique sixty-thousand square foot facility dedicated to hydrogen technology research, development and commercialization. The $9.2 million Center, located in Aiken County's Savannah River Research Campus, will bring together scientists, industries and universities to develop hydrogen fuel technology to its full potential.
Because of its fifty-year history in the production, handling and storage of hydrogen, the Savannah River National Laboratory is uniquely qualified to lead the nation in the development of hydrogen storage for stationary and automotive purposes. When combined with the University of South Carolina's National Science Foundation Fuel Center of Excellence, the technical expertise of the region is unsurpassed.
Scheduled to open in 2005, the Center will contain more than fifty- thousand square feet of lab space, divided between the Savannah River National Lab and universities and industries. Plans for the Center include a two- hundred and fifty person conference center and a display area, for use by educational institutions. Approximately fifty researchers and technicians from the Savannah River National Laboratory will form the initial staff for the Center; plans include adding another forty researchers in the next two years.
The Center's structure will allow for technology transfer between researchers and industry; this unique combination will contribute to the region's ability to attract hydrogen-related industry to the area.
In referring to the facility, Fred Humes, Director of the Aiken and Edgefield Economic Development Partnership, said: "today's groundbreaking symbolizes a breakthrough for the region and an opportunity to build national recognition of the area as a hub for the research and development of hydrogen technology. The impact this lab will have on the region will be positive and profound -- the entire region will benefit not only from the jobs that the Center brings, but also from the potential investment gained from hydrogen- related industries that will locate in the area. I am delighted to see so many state and local leaders here today for this ceremony -- the culmination of two years of regional effort."
Leaders from the Aiken and Edgefield Economic Development Partnership estimate that the Center for Hydrogen Research, coupled with other hydrogen- related industry and activity, will create nearly 40,000 jobs in South Carolina by 2020.
