Saturday, Jul. 12, 2008

Creating jobs in the new economy

Next week, the Board of the National Hydrogen Association will meet in Columbia in preparation for its convention in March. This convention will be the largest ever held at our convention center and will attract the international hydrogen and fuel cell industry’s largest companies.

Becoming part of the knowledge and hydrogen economy is an important economic strategy for Columbia and South Carolina. In 2008, we will build the first public hydrogen fueling station in the Southeast. Millennium Cell, a world leader in hydrogen battery technology, is moving a subsidiary company, Gecko Technologies, to Columbia. USC has the nation’s only National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fuel Cells. The Savannah River National Lab and Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research are centers for hydrogen research.

Every facet of society stands to be impacted by the dawning of efficient hydrogen-generated energy. A major source of global warming could disappear, as well as America’s reliance on foreign oil. Our strategy is to see that Columbia is the site for much of the commercialization of the hydrogen economy.

Columbia started on our strategy to enter the knowledge economy in February 2003, when we adopted our regional technology plan and created Engenuity to implement the plan.

USC President Andrew Sorensen announced his vision to build a research campus in downtown Columbia in late 2003. In April of 2006, USC, the Guignard family and the city unveiled a master plan for the 500 acres from Innovista to the waterfront. The first phase of Innovista, with two buildings at the Horizon Center and the Discovery Center, is nearly complete, as are the two parking garages financed by the city of Columbia and Richland County, representing an investment of more than $140 million.

The Association of University Technology Managers recently ranked USC 11th out of 114 public universities in the number of start-up businesses created. A recent survey of Columbia citizens showed overwhelming support for these efforts.

We know we must work to ensure that all of our citizens benefit from the knowledge economy and Innovista. Engenuity began working with the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, New Carolina and Columbia Opportunity Resource on the Columbia Talent Magnet project. This project is designed to find jobs for our college graduates by connecting them to existing community initiatives. Also, the USC Columbia Technology Incubator has assisted 63 companies and created 554 new jobs, including 142 minority and female jobs.

Our challenge in the Columbia region is to create new jobs and raise our per capita income. We have to develop our economy around knowledge-oriented jobs and companies that will drive the new economy and leave residual wealth in Columbia for generations to come.

Columbia is trying to pursue a growing knowledge and hydrogen economy in the face of a national economy that is near recession. The U.S. economy lost more than 60,000 jobs in June and has lost almost 438,000 jobs since the first of the year. The economy has suffered job losses in manufacturing and construction, seen the trouble in the real estate and mortgage industries and been rocked by record-high gas and food prices. Entering this new knowledge and hydrogen economy will not be easy or quick, but it can transform our city and state. It will create jobs and raise our per capita income.

Mr. Coble is mayor of Columbia.