Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, is located in the center of the state. While other areas of the state are well known tourist spots – Charleston or the beach resorts for example – some say Columbia is still trying to find its identity. 

The city has plunged deeper into financial disarray, the extent of which is just coming to light now, in early 2009. While the city isn’t broke, it doesn’t know how much money it has in the bank. The problems have cost taxpayers at least $6 million, both in losses and money spent fixing what was wrong. The city also spent $18 million more than it had budgeted on employee health insurance.

On the positive side, several economic development initiatives are finally coming to fruition in Columbia. In December 2008 Innovista – a visionary project to add a major new University of South Carolina research complex near the Congaree River – announced its first tenant, the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management. Lead sponsors are BlueCross BlueShield and IBM. The Consortium will focus on high-volume, mainframe computing. Innovista is a $250‐million investment described as “an economic catalyst that will raise the state’s per capita income and quality of life by attracting knowledge‐based businesses and high‐paying jobs.”

In another effort to create new jobs, the state of South Carolina, and Columbia in particular, is positioning itself as a center for R&D and commercialization in hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Components include EngenuitySC (a broad partnership to support new knowledge businesses), the Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge, the University of South Carolina Future Fuels ™ program, and the South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance. Columbia is also very excited to be hosting the National Hydrogen Association Conference and Hydrogen Expo in March/April 2009.