Financial Times: Billions flow to nascent US battery sector with push from climate law 

NY Times: LG Will Spend $5.5 Billion on a Battery Factory in Arizona

Detroit News: Ford Details $3.5 Billion Electric Vehicle Battery Plant To Be Built In Marshall

CNBC: Honda’s New $4.4 Billion EV Battery Plant Will Be Built In Ohio

The Inflation Reduction Act has spurred billions in new investments in battery plants, creating thousands of jobs and reestablishing the United States as a leader in this critical field. But Speaker McCarthy and Extreme MAGA House Republicans – as a part of their plan that is driving us ever closer to a first-ever default – want to reverse the incentives that are driving these historic investments, raising costs and shipping manufacturing capacity and jobs back to China and other competitors. Battery manufacturing facilities like these aren’t just essential for fighting climate change – they are a vital part of America’s ability to compete in the 21^st century. This historic progress is happening across the country: billions of dollars have been invested in states from Kentucky to Arizona, and a new “battery belt” is forming across towns in Georgia. But these investments could all be rolled back or stalled if Republicans get their way. Senate Democrats will continue to fight against the Republican default crisis and will defend these new investments and jobs that have been announced across the country.

Majority Leader Schumer released the following statement: “The Republican Party is threatening a job-killing, cost-spiking plan that will crash the U.S. economy and raise taxes. We should be working together to create new jobs and rebuild manufacturing, not moving forward radical bills that would send American manufacturing jobs back to China. The Inflation Reduction Act is already creating jobs and lowering costs – and MAGA Republicans’ frenzy to eliminate these job-creating and cost-reducing incentives shows just how radical the Republican party has become.”

THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS INCENTIVIZING BATTERY MANUFACTURERS TO BUILD IN THE U.S., SHORING UP CRITICAL SUPPLY CHAINS AND PROMPTING INVESTMENTS AND NEW JOBS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

Reuters: Panasonic Says It May Build EV Battery Plant In Oklahoma. “Japan's Panasonic Holdings, a battery supplier to electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, said on Sunday that it is considering building a battery plant in Oklahoma, its third in the United States.” [Reuters, 4/16/23]

Jackson Sun: 6K Energy To Bring World's First UniMelt Plasma Plant To Jackson, Creating 230 Jobs. “6K Energy, which produces an advanced plasma cathode system, announced Tuesday it will open a plant in Jackson, creating 230 new jobs in Madison County with an investment of over $200 million.” … “The investment represents the third largest investment for any industrial company in Jackson.” [Jackson Sun, 4/18/23]

WKYUFM (KY): EV-Related Company Plans $500 Million Facility In Hopkinsville, Kentucky. “Yet another manufacturing facility related to electric vehicles has announced an investment in Kentucky. This time, Microvast Advanced Membranes says it will bring 562 full time jobs and build a $500 million facility at a site in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The company manufactures synthetic materials used in the design of batteries for electric vehicles.” [WKYUFM, 3/30/23]

WBKO (KY): New $264m Manufacturing Facility, Enervenue, Coming To Shelby County. “Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday continued job creation within Kentucky’s manufacturing and clean energy sectors as EnerVenue will establish a new manufacturing facility in Shelby County, creating 450 full-time jobs with a $264 million Phase 1 investment with potential for further investment.” … “For the initial phase of the project, EnerVenue will construct a new state-of-the-art 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility on a 73-acre site located in Shelby County. The location will become the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for its Energy Storage Vessels.” [WBKO, 3/28/23]

WIBQ (IN): Entek’s Investment To Transform Terre Haute Economy. “Entek’s single largest investment is set to transform Terre Haute, Vigo County’s, economy and catapult Indiana’s electric vehicle industry.” … “ENTEK’s future facility in Vigo County is planned to be their largest site with the most employees. The plant is said to be bringing around 640 high-paying jobs to the community.” [WIBQ, 3/22/23]

NY Times: LG Will Spend $5.5 Billion on a Battery Factory in Arizona. “A South Korean battery manufacturer said it would quadruple its planned investment in a new factory in Arizona to meet growing demand from automakers who are trying to ramp up production of electric cars and trucks. The company, LG Energy Solution, said it would invest $5.5 billion to build the manufacturing complex near Phoenix, where it plans to make batteries for electric vehicles in 2025 and for energy storage systems the following year. LG said its decision was driven in part by the Inflation Reduction Act, which became law in August and included federal incentives for the sale and production of electric vehicles and batteries in the United States.” [NY Times, 3/24/23]

WLTX (SC): $1.3B Investment, 300 Jobs Coming To Chester County. “Charlotte-based Albemarle Corporation announced it will invest at least $13 billion dollars and create more than 300 jobs in a new "Mega-Flex" lithium hydroxide processing facility in Chester County, South Carolina. Albemarle will construct the conversion facility on nearly 800 acres near Richburg, along I-77 between Rock Hill and Columbia. The facility will process diverse lithium feedstock, including lithium from recycled batteries, and is expected to annually produce approximately 50,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from multiple sources, with the potential to reach up to 100,000 metric tons.” [WLTX, 3/22/23]

Nikkei Asia: Foxconn Says It Will Build EV Batteries In Wisconsin And Ohio. “Key iPhone assembler Foxconn on Wednesday said it plans to build electric vehicle batteries in Wisconsin and Ohio as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act spurs demand for local production. ‘We will build capacity for battery cells and battery packages for energy storage systems in Wisconsin, while we will also build capacity for battery packages for whole cars in our Ohio facility,’ Foxconn Chairman Young Liu told an investors' conference.” [Nikkei Asia, 3/15/23]

Clarksville Online: Dongwha Electrolyte USA Inc. To Locate Manufacturing Operations In Clarksville Tennessee. “Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter, and Dongwha Electrolyte USA Inc. officials announced today the company will establish manufacturing operations in the U.S., locating its first facility in Clarksville, Tennessee. Dongwha Electrolyte will invest more than $70 million and create 68 new jobs in Montgomery County.” [Clarksville Online, 2/27/23]

Rochester First: ‘This Is The Future’: Li-Cycle Awarded $375M Loan For Rochester Facility. “Li-Cycle, a lithium-ion battery recycling company, announced that they have been awarded a $375 million loan for the company’s HUB facility in Rochester. The loan comes from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program in order to create 270 jobs once the facility is completed and will create over 1,000 construction jobs. The Rochester facility, according to Li-Cycle, is designed to be able to process a maximum of 35,000 tonnes of black mass per year. This is equivalent to around 90,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material.” [Rochester First, 2/26/23]

ABC 15: New Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Plant Planned For Pinal County. “Ecobat, one of the largest battery recyclers globally, has made plans to locate its first North American battery recycling facility in the Phoenix metro and bring 60 new jobs to the area. The company announced that the facility will be located in Casa Grande and is Dallas-based Ecobat's third lithium-ion battery recycling facility. The new location will produce an estimated 10,000 tons of recycled material per year with plans to expand capacity.” [ABC 15, 2/22/23]

CNBC: Goldman-Backed Battery Firm Northvolt Earmarks Next Quarter For U.S. Factory Announcement. “Battery firm Northvolt will outline details of a new manufacturing plant in the U.S. before the start of the summer, CEO Peter Carlsson told CNBC Tuesday. The Swedish company has been reevaluating some of its investment decisions in light of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act — often referred to as IRA. The landmark legislation, which features green subsidies for businesses, is worth more than $300 billion.” [CNBC, 2/21/23]

Detroit News: Ford Details $3.5 Billion Electric Vehicle Battery Plant To Be Built In Marshall. “With a single multi-billion-dollar battery investment, Ford Motor Co. is signaling that Michigan will play a central role in the Dearborn automaker's bid to secure its electric-vehicle supply chain and ramp up EV production. The Blue Oval confirmed plans Monday to invest $3.5 billion to build the first automaker-backed lithium iron phosphate battery plant in the United States. The venture, slated to come online in 2026, will initially create 2,500 jobs.” [Detroit News, 2/13/23]

CNBC: GM To Invest $650 Million In A Lithium Company To Support Its Electric Vehicle Business. “General Motors said Tuesday it plans to invest $650 million in Lithium Americas to secure access to lithium, a vital component of batteries for electric vehicles. It’s the biggest investment an automaker has ever made to secure sources of the raw materials that go into batteries, the companies said. When the lithium is extracted from the Thacker Pass mine, which is the largest source of lithium identified in the U.S., and processed it will provide enough for GM to make as many as 1 million electric vehicles per year, the companies said.” [CNBC, 1/31/23]

Bowling Green Daily News (KY): Plant supporting EV batteries coming to Franklin. “Simpson County is the latest community to benefit from Kentucky’s growing status as a hub for electric vehicle battery manufacturing. LioChem e-Materials, a subsidiary of Japan-based Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co. Ltd., has plans to renovate an existing building on Ronnie Clark Drive in Franklin and establish a plant making materials used in EV battery production.” [Bowling Green Daily News, 1/26/23]

Reno Gazette Journal (NV): Tesla To Build $3.6 Billion Battery, Electric Semi Truck Manufacturing Facility In Northern Nevada. “Tesla will launch a new multi-billion-dollar advanced manufacturing project in Northern Nevada for its semi truck and batteries, the latest investment by the electric vehicle and technology company in the Silver State.” …“The new Tesla facility is the latest of several Nevada-based projects to receive federal incentives as the Biden administration makes a push to shore up the domestic battery industry.” [Reno Gazette Journal, 1/24/23]

Wall Street Journal: Redwood Materials To Build Second Battery-Parts Factory In South Carolina. “Battery-recycling startup Redwood Materials Inc. is accelerating its U.S. investment, saying it plans to build a second factory in South Carolina.”… “The Inflation Reduction Act ‘is bringing a ton of additional cell manufacturing to the U.S.,’ [Redwood Materials Founder] Mr. Straubel said. ‘I’d say this has gently shifted our priorities to really accelerate investment in the U.S. a little bit ahead of looking overseas.’” [Wall Street Journal, 12/14/22]

Reuters: Hyundai, SK To Build New Battery Plant In Georgia. “Hyundai Motor Group and SK On said Thursday they will build a new battery manufacturing plant in the U.S. state of Georgia to supply the Korean automaker's U.S. assembly plants.” … “The companies aim to begin operations in 2025 and said ‘stakeholders estimate it will create more than 3,500 new jobs through approximately $4-5 billion of investment’ in Georgia's Bartow County. Hyundai separately broke ground in October on a $5.54 billion electric vehicle (EV) and battery plant in Georgia's Bryan County.”  [Reuters, 12/8/22]

Bloomberg: BMW Battery Supplier Invests $810 Million In South Carolina Plant. “Envision AESC, a former battery unit of Nissan Motor Co., is investing $810 million to build a new battery manufacturing plant in Florence, South Carolina, to supply BMW AG. The plant, which is scheduled to start production in 2025, will create 1,170 new jobs and produce 30 gigawatt hours of battery capacity a year in its initial phase with room for expansion, said Jeff Deaton, Envision AESC’s managing director in the US. The battery plant will supply BMW’s manufacturing hub in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in which the automaker is investing $1.7 billion to produce electric vehicles.” [Bloomberg, 12/6/22]

AZ Inno: $1 Billion Battery Manufacturing Plant Proposed For Southern Arizona.  “Utah-based American Battery Factory is planning to build a $1.2 billion battery manufacturing plant in southern Arizona across 267 acres, according to Pima County documents and the startup. The new factory is expected to hire 1,000 employees at full build-out, with average annual salaries of $65,000, and have an estimated economic impact of $3.1 billion over a decade.” [AZ Inno, 12/2/22]

Bloomberg: Startup Behind Made-in-US Battery Plant Raises $75 Million. “Startup Kore Power, Inc. has raised $75 million of an anticipated $150 million financing round to fund construction of a lithium-ion battery factory in Arizona, betting the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act will boost demand for US-made cells.”…“The company plans to break ground on its KorePlex factory near Phoenix next month, with cell production scheduled to start in late 2024.” [Bloomberg, 11/30/22]

Electrek: LG Chem Is Going To Build A $3B EV Battery Cathode Factory – The Largest In The US. “LG Chem today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state of Tennessee to build a $3 billion cathode factory for electric vehicles. The new plant, which will be sited in Clarksville, will be the largest of its kind in the US.” …“LG Chem said it chose Tennessee because of its proximity to key customers, ease of transporting raw materials, and cooperation from state and local governments. It also cites the passage of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a catalyst for the new factory, which will see the creation of 850 jobs.” [Electrek, 11/22/22]

Financial Times: Billions flow to nascent US battery sector with push from climate law. “Chemicals group Livent this week completed an expansion of a lithium hydroxide refinery in Bessemer City, North Carolina.”… “Biden has thrown the weight of the government behind the buildout of the US battery supply chain as he looks to achieve a triple goal of combating climate change, boosting manufacturing jobs and reducing reliance on China, which dominates the market. In August he signed the country’s biggest-ever piece of climate legislation. The Inflation Reduction Act will provide lucrative tax incentives to companies that develop mines, processing facilities, battery plants and EV factories in the US.” [Financial Times, 11/16/22]

The Verge: Panasonic Breaks Ground On $4 Billion EV Battery Plant In Kansas.  “Four months after selecting De Soto, Kansas, as the location of its future EV battery plant, Panasonic has broken ground on the $4 billion facility — an important step as the US aims to increase the number of electric vehicle batteries that are assembled domestically.” … “The De Soto facility is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs. Panasonic said that recruitment for the first positions is expected to begin in mid-2023. The Japanese company is one of several battery producers building massive factories in the US.” [The Verge, 11/2/22]

CNBC: Honda’s New $4.4 Billion EV Battery Plant Will Be Built In Ohio. “Honda Motorand LG Energy Solution on Tuesday said a new multibillion-dollar plant to produce batteries for electric vehicles will be located in Ohio.”…“The announcements are part of several recent multibillion-dollar investments in U.S. production of EVs and batteries amid tightening emissions regulations and legislation to encourage domestic manufacturing.” [CNBC, 10/11/22]

Forbes: Bosch Makes Decision To Invest $200 Million in South Carolina Auto Parts Factory. “Bosch, the German conglomerate that makes everything from dishwashers to industrial software and security systems, is investing $200 million in its auto parts factory in South Carolina to produce fuel cell stacks to supply an emerging market for zero-emission trucks powered by hydrogen.” … “The investment comes on the heels of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act signed into law this month that provides incentives for building and buying vehicles powered by hydrogen–as long as it’s ‘green’ and made from sources that emit no carbon pollution.” [Forbes, 8/31/22]

New York Times: Toyota adds $2.5 billion to its investment in a North Carolina battery plant. “Toyota Motor said on Wednesday that it was more than doubling its investment in a battery plant in North Carolina as part of a broader effort to catch up to rivals in fielding electric vehicles.”… “The recently approved Inflation Reduction Act has increased the incentive for such plants by tying subsidies for E.V. purchases to the amount of a vehicle’s battery that is built in North America.” [New York Times, 8/31/22]

AP: Electric Battery Maker To Locate Factory In Northern Wva. “The energy startup SPARKZ said Tuesday it will locate an electric battery factory in northern West Virginia. The batteries will be built at a 482,000-square-foot (4.5-hectare) plant in Taylor County off U.S. Route 50 near Bridgeport, the company said in a statement. The plant, which eventually will employ 350 workers, originally was a glass factory that ceased operations in 2009. The plant will produce cobalt-free batteries, an effort to bring down the cost of U.S. lithium-ion battery production.” [AP, 8/30/22]

Wall Street Journal: Tesla Supplier Panasonic Plans Additional $4 Billion EV Battery Plant In U.S. “Panasonic Holdings Corp., a supplier to electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc., is in discussions to build an additional roughly $4 billion EV battery plant in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. The Japanese company is looking at Oklahoma as the location for its new plant.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/26/22]

###