The state of Michigan awarded incentives to two EV battery manufacturers in an effort to bolster future automotive careers.
Key Details
- In an effort to draw more automotive careers to the state, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer awarded incentives to two new battery projects in the state.
- The first is a cell factory called Our Next Energy founded by Mujeeb Ijaz. The $1.6-billion factory in southeast Michigan will manufacture lithium-iron phosphate batteries and is expected to hire more than 2,000 people.
- Our Next Energy has received a $200 million grant.
- The second manufacturer is a Chinese company Gotion High-Tech that is building a $2.4 billion plant in Big Rapids to produce battery anodes and cathodes. The plant will employ more than 2,000 people.
- Michigan awarded the company a $175 million grant and a zoning designation valued around $540 million.
Why it’s news
As the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) increases, more battery manufacturers will set up shop. States are scrambling to attract plants in order to create more jobs within the state.
Once a hub for the automotive industry, Michigan has lost much of the auto manufacturing that supplied jobs for its residents. Last year, Ford Motor decided to create its EV centers in Tennessee and Kentucky rather than Michigan.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been wooing companies to the state in order to create more jobs. Her incentive fund to lure companies with big projects has nearly $2 billion.
Both facilities will bring thousands of jobs to the area. Our Next Energy is expected to come online in 2024 and achieve full capacity in 2027. Gotion High-Tech Co. doesn’t have an expected completion date yet. The project isn’t confirmed with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Bloomberg reports.
The rush to build battery factories in the U.S. is in large part due to the Inflation Reduction Act. This piece of legislation incentivizes EV battery production in the U.S., leading to a number of companies opening up new factories in the states.
