Battery maker EnerSys has selected Greenville, South Carolina, to develop a 4-GWh lithium-ion cell factory.
EnerSys has applied for an incentive package through South Carolina and Greenville County valued at approximately $200 million, which includes a combination of short-term and long-term incentives. The company intends to use a portion of those proceeds, along with the Inflation Reduction Act 45X tax benefits and potential additional federal funding, to make a $500 million investment with the potential to create 500 new jobs.
EnerSys is evaluating the development of a 500,000-ft2 manufacturing facility on approximately 140 acres in the Augusta Grove business park in Greenville. The operation, which would be the company’s second in South Carolina, would manufacture various form factors of lithium-ion cells for commercial, industrial and defense applications. EnerSys is the parent company behind Outback Power.
“We recognize Greenville as an emerging hub for high-tech companies with an attractive talent pool in a thriving community. EnerSys is accelerating the global clean energy transition by significantly expanding our production of lithium-ion batteries across a broad range of end markets and applications. With the support of South Carolina and Greenville County this factory will help us meet our customers’ needs, including those with specific manufacturing requirements for domestic sourced batteries,” said David M. Shaffer, EnerSys president and CEO.
EnerSys last year entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Verkor SAS, a European battery tech company, to work together on a U.S. lithium plant. Verkor is building a 16-GWh battery cell and module factory in France that should start production in 2025. Verkor mainly supplies EV manufacturers, such as Renault Group.
EnerSys is targeting construction to begin on the South Carolina plant in early 2025 with operations commencing in late 2027.
News item from EnerSys