Florida Gov. Rick Scott today announced that Bing Energy Inc. of
Chino, Calif., has selected Tallahassee as the new site of the
company's world headquarters. The company, in collaboration with
Professor Jim P. Zheng of The Florida State University, is planning
to turn revolutionary nanotechnology pioneered at FSU into a
better, faster, more economical and commercially viable fuel cell.
The move is expected to create at least 244 jobs paying an average
wage of $41,655 in Florida.
"I am proud to welcome Bing Energy and thank them for
recognizing that Florida is the best state in the nation," Scott
said. "As governor, I am continuing to make it the best place to do
business. This is only the beginning. Just as Bing Energy was
convinced to bring jobs here, I am talking to companies across the
nation. I am letting them know that our reduction in the business
tax burden, commitment to job creation, and Florida's world-class
work force mean we are open for business."
Bing Energy, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art components for
polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, will begin production in
March 2011 and serve the domestic and international energy
markets.
"We know that, with the continuing support of Gov. Scott, the
Legislature and the people of Florida, our institutions of higher
learning will continue to foster innovation, and jobs will continue
to cluster around those innovations," said Florida State University
President Eric J. Barron. "The breakthrough research by Drs. Wang
and Zheng and the company's decision to come to Florida confirm
that the investment made in their work by our state and the federal
government has realized its commercial potential. Bing Energy
represents the future, and Florida State is proud to be a part of
it."
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Bing is moving its global headquarters to Tallahassee to work in
partnership with Zheng, who has pioneered a fuel cell that
incorporates a thin membrane composed of carbon nanotubes, reducing
the need for expensive platinum components that, until now, have
made fuel cells too expensive to be widely marketed. Zheng's
technology is based on pioneering research and development of
buckypaper conducted at Florida State's High-Performance Materials
Institute. The institute's director, Professor Ben Wang, is the
assistant vice president for research at Florida State.
Bing Energy's innovation promises to produce a fuel cell that is
more efficient, more durable and significantly less expensive -
benefits that could transform the transportation and power
generation sectors.
Joining Scott and Barron in celebrating Bing Energy's move to
Tallahassee were Bing Energy CFO Dean Minardi, Tallahassee Mayor
John Marks, and representatives from the Economic Development
Council of Tallahassee/Leon County Inc.
"We all know the world's existing energy-use pattern is
unsustainable," Minardi said. "A commercially viable fuel cell will
transform the way we drive, reducing our dependence on fossil
fuels. It will transform the way we deliver energy to
neighborhoods, ensuring reliability and eliminating the risk of
brownouts."
Bing Energy's move to Florida is tied to a $1.9 million award
the company recently received from the Governor's Office of
Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. The award is a Qualified
Target Industry (QTI) Tax Refund in support of job creation. The
local Tallahassee and Leon County governments are also supporting
Bing Energy by each providing a 10 percent match on the QTI
Award.
Gov. Scott has stated that creating jobs is his top priority. As
governor, he has announced plans to create 700,000 jobs over the
next seven years by implementing accountability budgeting, reducing
government spending, enacting regulatory reform, focusing on job
growth and retention, investing in world class state universities,
reducing property taxes and phasing out the business income
tax.
Local officials expressed delight that Tallahassee was chosen by
Bing Energy as its relocation site.
"Our organization identified tax incentives and work-force
training programs that gave Tallahassee the edge over other
communities under consideration," said Kim Williams, chairman of
the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/ Leon County Inc.
"This is a perfect example of why connecting industry, education
and government is so important. In this case, these connections
helped us to retain our talent, as well as our university
technologies and commercialization within our community."
Tallahassee Mayor John Marks spoke of the importance of creating
jobs in his community and "retaining one of our greatest assets,
our work-force talent. The city of Tallahassee is committed to
doing our part to help this promising company establish its roots
in our community."
Marks' comments were echoed by John Dailey, chairman of the Leon
County Commission.
"The county is committed to working with our public and private
sectors, especially our universities, to help businesses locate in
our community," Dailey said.
SOURCE