The Data Center Sweepstakes: The Columbus Region is Playing and Winning

The Columbus Region’s data center boom is transforming communities by driving educational initiatives and providing financial benefits to schools and local governments.

If the future is to be built on data, the Columbus Region has a foundation for the future that few communities can match. Around our 11 counties, the construction cranes and the expansive campuses tell only part of the story of the data-center boom. Well beyond the millions of square feet already built, under construction or planned at more than 40 campuses around the region, data centers are transforming their host communities with new opportunities in education, workforce development and community improvement.

In Union County, where Amazon Web Services (AWS) is building two data centers of 1 million square feet each, students at Jonathan Alder High School and Canaan Middle School get to dive into hands-on STEM learning and stretch their creativity at the AWS-sponsored “Think Big Space.” There’s one at each school, designed to inspire new ideas and build tech confidence — and possibly spark future careers — as kids learn about coding, robotics, artificial intelligence and more. AWS has provided more than 40 Think Big Spaces around the world.

At Tolles Career & Technical Center, a vocational school serving seven central Ohio school districts including Jonathan Alder, Hilliard and Dublin, AWS supports instruction in fiber splicing that can earn career certifications for high schoolers and adults alike.

The Tolles program and Think Big Spaces are just two examples of the ways a data center can enhance educational opportunities and, for Union County, they’re only the start of the direct financial benefits to schools and the larger community. It is true that many centers are built on land with property-tax abatements, but those savings to the company apply only to improvements. Real-estate tax revenue from the underlying ground alone, the value of which has increased dramatically amid the data center boom, drives immediate tax benefits to schools. Beyond that upfront windfall, communities often negotiate additional support for schools or municipalities in the form of payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) agreements.



In Union County, the PILT provides for $4 million over the 10-year life of the tax abatement — $400,000 per year divided among the Jonathan Alder district, the Tolles vocational school district and the county, which uses it to maintain roads serving the AWS site. Beyond the direct contributions, AWS’ engagement with other local organizations builds partnerships that help build a stronger community, says Eric Phillips, economic development director for the county and the city of Marysville.

“I would guess Facebook and Google are the same, being highly engaged with their communities,” Phillips said of such partnerships. “I think that’s a big benefit to having these companies.”

Read the rest of this article here: The Data Center Sweepstakes: The Columbus Region is Playing and Winning

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MWJA Conference was in Columbus, Ohio!

Midwest US Japan Conference (MWJA) is a non-profit organization that promotes business and cultural relations between the Midwest U.S. and Japan. This year, the conference took place in Columbus, Ohio!



From governors to top executives at leading companies in both America and Japan, the Midwest US Japan Conference serves as a unique venue for bringing together political and business leaders to foster business relations.

Over 50 years of US / Japan Relations

BETA District, City of Dublin, City of Marysville and Union County Booth

The Governor of Saitama Prefecture & Mayor of Marysville, Donald Boerger

What Honda did in Ohio to be more environmentally friendly

MARYSVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – When Honda says it is trying to go green, it really means it.

The automaker was operating a different kind of vehicle Wednesday near its Marysville factory – workers on tractors planting 85,000 trees on 100 acres near the plant.

The planting is part of Honda’s goal to be more environmentally friendly as the company tries to go carbon-neutral by 2050.

The future forest is called the Honda Power of Dreams Forest and features trees native to Ohio like hazelnut, hickory, maple, oak and sycamore. The company hopes to harvest hazelnuts and syrup from the trees.

Honda aims to go all-electric by 2040, selling only zero-emission vehicles by then and phasing out gas and diesel-powered engines.

Honda hopes 40% of its sales will be zero-emission vehicles by 2030 and 80% by 2035.



The automaker is in the process of converting its Ohio plants to manufacture electric vehicles.

Honda upgrading Ohio facilities as EV production approaches

Roughly a year out from local electric vehicle production, Honda is hitting some key milestones.

The automaker, which bases several of its North American operations in and around Marysville, Tuesday provided an update on the revamping of its Ohio production facilities.

The biggest step to date in that $700 million undertaking is the recent installation of the first of its six new “megacasting” machines at the Anna Engine Plant.

Biggest being quite literal in this case – the machines are 6,000 tons each. The machines will high-pressure die-cast the casings that hold the vehicle’s intelligent power unit (IPUs), which is what will power the EVs.

This “megacasting,” as Honda calls it, is a new global capability for the manufacturer. The IPU cases are the largest piece it has ever die cast before.

Honda is reworking its three key Ohio production facilities – Anna, as well as the Marysville and East Liberty auto plants – to be the Honda EV Hub.

Mike Fischer, executive chief engineer and Honda EV Hub lead, in a press release, said the changes are not just about EV production, but about “reimagining” Honda’s approach to manufacturing.

What is being done in Ohio is expected to be the foundation for Honda production worldwide going forward.

It is creating a single production line – it previously was two lines – in its auto plants that will have the ability to produce EVs, hybrids and internal combustion engine vehicles all alongside each other.

It’s also making these change on the fly as it continues to produce those gas-powered and hybrid vehicles today.

The Marysville Auto Plant is prepping for the sub-assembly of the IPUs. Workers will install the battery modules being made at the Honda-LG Energy Solution joint-venture in Jeffersonville with the cases made in Anna. Those then will be installed in vehicles assembled in the Marysville and East Liberty plants.

Honda said the transformation, despite adding an entirely new line of products, also includes making production less complex. It is reducing the amount of walking associates do by simplifying the flow of installation and improving the parts delivery and staging process.  

The first EV to be produced on the Marysville line will be based on the Acura Performance EV Concept that was unveiled last month in California.

Production is scheduled for late 2025.

The $3.5 billion Jeffersonville battery plant is on track to be completed by the end this year. Its annual capacity will be 40 gigawatt hours.

Honda has set a goal of 100% of vehicle sales being battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles by 2040.

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