Metro Augusta has gained another “hub” status under the Biden administration.
The administration announced Tuesday the award of $45 million to the “S.C. Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy.”
The entity is one of 31 federally-designated “Tech Hubs” and one of just 12 to receive the funding, according to a news release.
The metro counties comprising Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg and Augusta are included in the designation.
The SC Nexus, led by the S.C. Department of Commerce, aims to be a leader in advanced energy with a focus on cyber-secure grid resilience technologies and the clean-energy supply chain.
“Receiving the federal Tech Hubs designation signals to the world that South Carolina has the necessary assets and infrastructure to create a real impact in the advanced energy resiliency sector,” S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said in a statement.
“Today’s announcement is a testament to Augusta and Georgia’s research, logistics, workforce and entrepreneurial assets,” Georgia Sen. John Ossoff said.
“I congratulate Mayor Johnson and everyone in Augusta-Richmond County, and I thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Commerce Secretary Raimondo for their continued collaboration as we lead Georgia forward.”
Johnson serves as the point person for Augusta’s other federal designation, as one of just five “Workforce Hub” cities in the U.S. as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
Among benefits for the region from that designation are grants and partnerships involving the Solvay, Aurubis, Manus and Kubota manufacturing plants as well as area schools, colleges and universities, the Savannah River National Lab and area unions.
Among the six Nexus projects awarded Tech Hub funding includes a grid-enabled cyber operations range, led by the national lab, located in Aiken County.
The lab was awarded $9.96 million in tech hub funds. Using its cyber test range and supply chain risk management expertise, it will create a testing range for grid-connected equipment, for both operator training and equipment testing, a statement said.
The consortium’s 52 members include 24 industry groups such as Southern Company and Santee Cooper and institutions of higher learning Augusta University, Clemson, South Carolina State, the University of South Carolina, Benedict College and the S.C. Technical College System.
The Nexus has also formed partnerships with the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and U.S. Army Cyber Command at Fort Eisenhower, it said.
