Honda Motor Co.’s advanced research arm in the U.S., Honda Research Institute USA, will invest $2.6 million to establish an advanced materials science lab on The Ohio State University SciTech Campus in Columbus, Ohio, the company announced Oct. 7.
The lab will support existing Honda research priorities, including hydrogen fuel cells, carbon capture, EV batteries and battery recycling, to inform the development of future Honda technologies.
"Ohio continues to be one of our most important centers of innovation," Christopher Brooks, chief scientist and division director at Honda Research Institute USA, said in a statement.
The company has partnered with Ohio State since 1987, when Honda established a transportation research endowment fund within the university’s engineering school. It opened 99P Labs on the university’s SciTech campus in 2018 and invested $15 million in the campus’ Ohio State Battery Cell R&D Center in 2023.
Last year, Honda announced it was retooling its manufacturing processes to allow gas-powered, hybrid and battery electric vehicles to all be built on the same production lines. Honda’s research activities at Ohio State are conducted near a number of these facilities, as well as Honda’s joint venture battery plant, which together are known as the Honda EV Hub.
The new production approach in Ohio “will serve as the foundation for Honda operations throughout North America and globally,” Mike Fischer, executive chief engineer and Honda EV Hub lead, said in a September 2024 statement.
“We are grateful to the state of Ohio for supporting the continued expansion of Honda research capabilities in the Columbus region that will deepen our collaboration with academic and industry partners,” Brooks said.
JobsOhio, the state’s quasi-governmental economic development agency, in a statement said it awarded Honda a $500,000 research and development grant to secure the project.
Ohio has provided hundreds of millions in subsidies to Honda for its battery joint venture and plant retooling projects over the past few years, according to corporate and government accountability nonprofit Good Jobs First.
“Honda’s expanded research presence is proof of Ohio’s diverse economy and its ability to power multiple industries with the technologies that shape the future,” said J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio.
The lab is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2025.
