Partners in Advance Northeast Ohio are focused on building new growth industries that are fueled by innovation and powered by exports. That is why it was so important to pass the renewal of the Third Frontier program. Thank you to everyone for supporting this important effort to fund the research, commercialization and product development in emerging industries.

The past week has provided several reminders of the progress the region is making toward building a more vibrant economic future by supporting new industries, which include:

Fuel cells: A new national report declared Ohio one of the nation's top five states in this emerging industry, the report cited Ohio's focus on building the supply chain and manufacturing base for the fuel cell industry. Stark State's Fuel Cell Prototyping Center, supported by the Third Frontier program, is home to Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems and companies like GrafTech are emerging as key players in the fuel cell supply chain.

Liquid crystals: Kent State University gave birth to the multi-billion dollar liquid crystal display industry and now the university and other partners are working hard to make sure the region gets more of the economic benefit from the next wave of growth in this evolving industry. The state of Ohio just approved $1 million in grants to companies that have spun out of Kent State's liquid crystal research. Learn more here.

Sensors: Up to seven young companies producing sensors for uses from measuring blood pressure to detecting explosive acetylene buildup in electrical transformers could be coming to the GLIDE Center at Lorain County Community College, thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Development. Learn more from the Lorain Morning Journal.

Cleantech/Advanced Energy: A new report from Team NEO highlights how Northeast Ohio is well positioned to take advantage of the expected growth in the "cleantech" sector, which encompasses everything from environmental cleanup to advanced energy. Our region's strength in this sector was reinforced by an Oberlin company announced its plans to add 100 jobs as it expands manufacturing of wind turbine electric generators. The region's development of the advanced energy sector got a big boost recently when the Economic Development Administration awarded $300,000 to NorTech to help strengthen the region's competiveness in the energy storage, smart grid, transportation electrification, and biomass/waste-to-energy sectors. Learn more about NorTech's Energy Enterprise initiative. Wondering who some of the new companies are in this growing sector? Check out JumpStart's portfolio of cleantech companies.