Port finishes feasibility study

COLFAX — The Port of Whitman County recently completed a feasibility study funded by the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) to study a proposed technology transfer and commercialization scaling center at Pullman Industrial Park (PIP).

During the regular Port Commission meeting on Monday, Nov. 27, the consultant hired to complete the feasibility study shared the results with the commission. The study assessed similar cases in Washington state and the nation, sources of demand, potential sites and other factors that could affect a scaling facility’s design, construction, and operations.

The scaling center is to support the launch of innovative clean technology businesses out of the region’s land grant universities.

CERB awarded the Port a $50,000 grant in May 2022 to conduct a feasibility study of a Biological Systems and Mechanical and Materials Engineering Tech Transfer Building, with matching funds of $12,500 by the Port.

A scaling facility is a building that allows researchers to conduct pilot-scale testing for new technologies. This building can provide a turnkey location for research advancing from the lab to a larger scale, which helps cutting-edge businesses demonstrate viability to investors and funders.

Port Executive Director Kara Riebold said the feasibility study demonstrates an interest from researchers at public institutions and private entities and the need for another facility like this in the state.

“There are researchers within our region that need a resource like this to test technologies at scale and to attract funding to gain a foothold in their markets, and from there grow and create jobs,” Riebold said.

Riebold said the Port believes Whitman County is an excellent location to build this facility, to allow them to grow local and regional businesses, create and sustain jobs and provide economic vitality for the county and region.

The Port’s next steps are to develop a funding approach for the proposal and share information with interested parties, including the Pullman community, businesses in Pullman Industrial Park and potential scaling facility users. The Port anticipates federal grant dollars to support job creation and is figuring out a funding approach in spring 2024.

The Port’s Industrial Park, located on Terre View Drive on the north end of Pullman, was created in the 1980s and houses a community of technology, life sciences, and other businesses that employ 2,800 workers. There are three building sites left at the industrial park. The scaling facility is proposed on a building site that encompasses three lots.

The Port recently received a $2 million low-interest loan to support the expansion of Hunga Duunga Brewing Co., which will occupy a second site for its project. The last available site is a 1.5-acre lot adjacent to Hunga Dunga’s future location.