Gotion High-tech, a battery manufacturer based in China, is prepared to expand its footprint in the North American EV market. It intends to accelerate its global expansion by investing US$2.36 billion in the construction of battery material production facilities in Michigan.
On October 5, the state of Michigan officially declared that an incentive package for the project had been approved. The battery manufacturer would reportedly build four production facilities in northern Michigan, the state government announced. The production base will be able to generate 50,000 tons of anode material and 150,000 tons of cathode material annually once it is finished.
The Detroit News claims that Gotion will assemble its batteries at an additional, as-yet-unidentified location in North America.
Before deciding to locate the plants in Michigan, Gotion reportedly gave Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Illinois, and Ohio some thought. 2,350 new employment in the state are anticipated as a result of the project. The government will also provide the battery manufacturer with a package of incentives, including two grants totaling US$175 million.
Chuck Thelen, vice president of Gotion Global, said in a statement: “We are committed to bringing world-class lithium battery production to North America and providing high-quality goods to our clients in a timely manner.
The Inflation Reduction Act was enacted in August, and that was followed by the battery project. The bill mandates that batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) that qualify for tax incentives in 2023 must be either domestically or from a US free trade partner.
Gotion, which is ranked eighth among the top 10 companies, installed 5.8 GWh of batteries worldwide in the first half of 2022, according to South Korean company SNE Research. It has conducted research and development projects in California and Ohio within the US.
In order to become more competitive internationally, the battery manufacturer supported by Volkswagen is growing its business outside of China. Gotion raised US$685 million in an IPO in July, making it the first Chinese battery business to be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Prior to that, it launched an initiative to produce batteries in Germany with an annual output goal of 18GWh.
But on Wednesday, Michigan welcomed yet another battery project. According to Reuters, the Michigan-based battery firm Our Next Energy (ONE) will invest US$1.6 billion in the construction of a large-scale production facility in a Detroit suburb. Manufacturing of cells and packs as well as raw material refinement will be included in the production.
According to the firm, the battery manufacturer with support from BMW works on commercializing LFP technologies that do not reduce EV range. By late 2027, it anticipates the Michigan plants’ capacity to increase to 20GWh, or the equivalent of 200,000 EVs powered yearly.
According to Reuters, ONE’s founder and CEO, Mujeeb Ijaz, stated that the business is developing a raw material supply chain. It will start sourcing from abroad and gradually transition to North American sources.
