Ohio's TRC has been an auto investment magnet

In the new age of autonomous driving, states and regions are considering the creation and funding of research centers as magnets to attract auto industry jobs and investment.

Ohio's Transportation Research Center is way ahead of them.

The 4,500-acre TRC opened 46 years ago near the small town of East Liberty, Ohio, decades before "autonomous" became a household word among automakers.

Hidden behind the berm of Ohio's busy U.S. Route 33, 45 miles northwest of Columbus, the center was developed not to be noticed by the public, says Transportation Research Center CEO Brett Roubinek.

"You can't see into it. It certainly didn't desire attention because it's a confidential facility, but the work has always been going on," Roubinek told Automotive News. "Over the past several years, we've had an opportunity to speak more openly about the facilities we're developing, as well as the technologies we're involved in."

But the center is making more noise as it pushes deeper into its fastest-growing business area — advanced mobility and connected infrastructure.

Last summer, the center opened the $45 million SMARTCenter, a 540-acre autonomous- and connected-vehicle testing grounds with six lanes stretching 1.2 miles. It includes underground conduits for power and fiber optics, connected and signalized intersections and roundabouts.

Elsewhere in the TRC are a 7.5-mile high-speed test track, a 50-acre asphalt vehicle dynamics area, and a high-impact lab.

The TRC has begun working with DriveOhio, an initiative formed in 2018 by Ohio's Department of Transportation to help open some of its public roads to advanced mobility testing and infrastructure.

In January, the TRC formed the Research Consortium for Crashworthiness in Automated Driving Systems with automakers and suppliers. The center's oldest customer is NHTSA, which has performed research and testing at the Ohio center since 1976.

Honda Motor Co. chose an adjacent site at TRC in the 1970s to build its first U.S. manufacturing plant, to assemble motorcycles. Immediately after that, Honda built a car assembly plant, followed by an engine plant and a second auto plant. In 1987, to induce more expansion in central Ohio, the state sold Honda the entire TRC property for a relatively low $31 million. Today, Honda plants around the sprawling TRC property employ 15,000.

Yet for the past 30-plus years, Honda has owned TRC on a strictly landlord-tenant basis, ensuring that the research center operates independently as a nonprofit and manages its own proving grounds, Roubinek said. About 800 companies have come through the TRC, and 150 customers are currently using it, Roubinek said.

The client list is confidential, but customers include major automakers, suppliers from every tier, and technology companies working in automotive or transportation.

The center has helped forge the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor, a stretch of highway from East Liberty to Columbus, allowing for transportation research. The corridor is being used by such companies as Honda R&D Americas, Valeo, Denso International America and Panasonic Automotive Systems.

Denso begain working on the $1.42 million Smart Mobility Ecosystem in August in suburban Columbus to test connected infrastructure and mobility services.