Tobacco Commission looking at four Southside projects

The Tobacco Commission is considering applications for four projects that could bring jobs to Southside.

Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, a member of the commission and its Research and Development Committee, which is considering the projects, said the measures all have to meet specific guidelines before they will be considered for funding.

Marshall said the applicants have to be conducting research and development into specific fields, namely energy, biomedical and health care, information technology, chemical and materials or environmental — and the research has to be far enough along that commercial applications are possible within 36 months.

The Tobacco Commission also wants applicants to have significant financial backing for the project already — it will not fund more than 50 percent of the project, Marshall said.

Most importantly, applicants have to show that the projects will bring jobs to the region.

Marshall said that at a Research and Development Committee meeting Tuesday in Roanoke four projects that could benefit Southside were considered worthy of further investigation, and they were sent to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership for review.

One of the projects could bring 25 new positions to the Advanced Vehicle Research Center in Danville, according to the company’s founder, Dick Dell.

Dell said the company has been working with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a vehicle to test different batteries on. The company is asking the Tobacco Commission for $1 million in funding to take the project to the commercial level.

AVRC will use the funds to develop hybrid conversion kits for light- to mid-duty trucks, such as the Ford F Series, Dell said.

Dell said it is anticipated that the project would bring about 25 new jobs to the plant over three years.

Another Danville-based project has been applied for by the Dan River Business Development Center, to help one of its tenants design a new level of fiber optic cables.

DRBDC’s president, Linda Green, said IRFlex founder and CEO Francois Chenard has had offices at the center since September, and is working with the Navy Research Lab and the U.S. Air Force to create infra-red fiber optics for aviation applications.

Green said they are asking for $2 million from the Tobacco Commission to further that research, including applications for commercial airlines. The project could bring 30 new research jobs to Danville over three years, Green said.

A third project that could impact Danville was applied for by the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority, asking for $3 million to create a repository for a database of tobacco-related disorders. The repository would be housed at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.

Liam Leightley, executive director at the Institute, said it is supporting the projects because, “(It is our belief that, in the long term, these repositories will become an integral part of the knowledge economy and will allow IALR, through this partnership, to extend our very important mission of regional transformation. Our long-term vision is to use this partnership to lead the region into the new information-based global economy.” 

The fourth project under consideration is a Halifax County economic development project that could bring 200 jobs to Southside. Details on the project are not available, but Marshall said the company considering the move to Halifax County is also considering three other states for its project.

Marshall said it will take six to 12 weeks for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to determine whether the projects are using technology that “sound and current,” and to pass its recommendations back to the Tobacco Commission.