Electric vehicle battery maker plans $165 mln North Carolina plant in 2026

Panasonic Holdings

14/11/2023 16:47

By Paul Lienert
       Nov 14 (Reuters) - Materials science startup Forge Nano
is the latest company to plant a stake in North Carolina's
burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) battery belt, with a planned
$165 million factory in 2026, the firm said Tuesday.
    Colorado-based Forge Nano, which specializes in nanocoatings
for a variety of applications, said it plans to launch an EV
battery business near Raleigh with a new unit called Forge
Battery.
    The battery manufacturing operation, backed by Forge Nano
and a variety of unnamed investors, plans to make lithium-ion
cells for use in defense, aerospace and specialty electric
vehicle markets.
    Forge Nano's investors include the U.S. Departments of
Defense and Energy along with large corporate investors from
Japan, Germany, France, South Korea and Thailand, according to
investor website PitchBook.
    The plant will make both high-energy and high-power
cylindrical cells in 21700 and 18650 formats made popular by
Tesla  TSLA.O .
    The company said it plans to use "a U.S-focused battery
material supply chain" without providing specifics. The U.S.
government provides incentives for batteries and battery
materials sourced domestically.
    North Carolina is providing more than $8 million in
incentives to Forge Battery.
     The plant, in Morrisville, will have an initial capacity of
one gigawatt-hour -- relatively modest compared with so-called
"gigafactories" operated by Tesla, General Motors  GM.N , LG
Energy Solution  373220.KS , Panasonic  6752.T  and others.
    Forge Nano's move follows a tidal wave of investments in new
EV battery plants, many of them in North Carolina, spurred by
the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA and other U.S.
legislation provide incentives aimed at boosting domestic
production of EVs, batteries and raw materials.
    Among the most recent deals was an Oct. 31 announcement by
Toyota Motor  7203.T  that it would boost its investment in a
North Carolina EV battery plant by $8 billion, to nearly $14
billion.

 (Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by David
Gregorio)
 ((Paul.Lienert@thomsonreuters.com; mobile +1 313-670-2452;))