MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — LG Nova officially opened its first office in Morgantown on the West Virginia University campus in the Vantage Ventures office on University Avenue. This is the next step in the launch of the NOVA North American Innovation Center project in West Virginia, which is expected to bring advancements to many aspects of life in the Mountain State.
Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Economic Development, Mitch Carmichael, said the investment, expected to be in the range of $700 million, will bring new businesses, technologies for renewable energy, industries of tomorrow, and healthcare.
“When you can recruit a world-class company like LG Nova with the resources they have and the resources, opportunity, and vision, it will really pay big dividends for West Virginia’s workforce. and the people,” Carmichael said.
Monday, the office in Morgantown opened with the Executive Vice President at LG Electronics and Head of North America Experience: LG Electronics Sokwoo Rhee said they hope to find groundbreaking concepts and ideas, then develop pathways to monetize and grow them.
“The idea is that we build the LG business and LG-led businesses, and by doing that, we impact the local start-up ecosystem so they can create their own businesses as well,” Rhee said.
Spending the day on the Morgantown campus, Rhee said he talked with students who want innovation and change. Rhee said LG could begin working with students in the junior or senior years to give them the tools and resources to develop new concepts that could result in industry and job opportunities here.
“We can explore how you can work with LG, or you can even create your own business and LG can help you, or maybe you can directly work with LG,” Rhee said. “That is the value we’re going to bring here.”
An example of collaboration would be the LG NOVA digital health venture with the Marshall Health Network to address substance abuse, obesity, aging, and access. The Marshall Health Network partnership will help meet the needs of 1.4 million residents across 40 counties in West Virginia, southern Ohio, and eastern Kentucky.
“By doing that, we believe we can offer more health care coverage or services to the folks who need them,” Rhee said.
The innovation hub at WVU, Vantage Ventures, is the perfect place for LG Nova to begin their West Virginia journey. Established in 2019 in the John Chambers School of Business, the center identifies startup businesses that could evolve into scalable industries that create jobs of all types.
“We need those singles that will urn into big companies later,” Carmichael said. “And this innovation aspect of LG Nova is what’s being germinated right here in Morgantown at this innovation center.”
LG Nova will open another office in White Sulphur Springs Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The ceremony will in the Spring Room at the Greenbrier at 101 West Main Street.