Northeast Ohio Hosts 2006 Fuel Cell Symposium; Focus on Collaborations, Trends and Applications

AKRON, Ohio & CLEVELAND--May 18, 2006--The Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition will hold the 2006 Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium on May 23-24 at Kent State Stark Professional Education and Conference Center.

"Canton is an ideal location with the Fuel Cell Prototyping Center at Stark State opening up this summer," according to Ken Alfred, executive director of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition. "In addition, Stark State College of Technology supports the industry with strong involvement in Fuel Cell educational initiatives."

Lt. Governor Bruce Johnson will be the keynote speaker at the Symposium on Wednesday, May 24, 2006. Other speakers from various parts of the fuel cell industry will also be featured. The media is invited to attend the Tuesday night reception or the Wednesday conference presentations.

For the first time, the Symposium will offer a short course on fuel cell fundamentals - featuring experts from Case Western Reserve University, The Ohio State University and The University of Toledo - on topics such as systems integration, fuel processing and hydrogen storage.

To show support for this important industry, Team NEO is a sponsor of the Symposium. "The fuel cell industry shows great promise for our region's growth," said Thomas Waltermire, Team NEO's chief executive officer. "Supporting this symposium helps keep Ohio a leader on a state, national and international level."

For more information on the Coalition and the Symposium, visit www.fuelcellsohio.org/events.html.

About Team NEO

Team NEO is a private-sector-led regional economic development organization formed through the collaboration of many of the region's leading business organizations to support and stimulate higher levels of targeted business attraction, retention and expansion in Northeast Ohio. Team NEO chamber partners include Greater Cleveland Partnership, Greater Akron Chamber, Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, Medina County Economic Development Corporation, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and Stark Development Board. Team NEO represents the Northeast Ohio region covering 13 counties: Ashtabula, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne.

About Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition

The Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition is a united group of industry, academic, and government leaders working collectively to strengthen Ohio's fuel cell industry and to accelerate the transformation of the industry to global leadership in fuel cell technology and applications.