A California-based sodium-ion battery manufacturer announced plans on Thursday to build a $1.4 billion facility in Edgecombe County.
Natron Energy designs and manufactures sodium-ion batteries for industries such as data centers and electric vehicle fast-charging stations. The clean energy company is expected to hire 1,062 workers for its planned megasite in Kingsboro.
The new 1.2 million square foot facility, the company's first gigafactory, will enable Natron Energy to increase its current production capacity by 40 times. The company's facility in Holland, Michigan can produce 600 megawatts of sodium-ion batteries annually, and officials expect the Kingsboro facility to produce 24 gigawatts annually at full capacity.
Natron's sodium-ion batteries use the company's patented Prussian blue electrodes to deliver high-power, long-life energy, said company officials. They can outperform lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, and also do not require the use of rare earth metals or minerals like cobalt or lithium, which make them more environmentally sustainable.
“North Carolina, with its leadership in clean energy manufacturing and commitment to fostering innovation, is an ideal home for Natron and this groundbreaking facility,” said Colin Wessells, founder and co-CEO, Natron Energy, in a press release. “This facility will drastically increase the company’s production capacity, creating a sustainable growth trajectory as we seek to fundamentally change the way that industrial power is used."
A North Carolina grant program that helps new and expanding businesses offset the cost of locating a facility in the state will help Natron build the plant. The agreement between Natron and the grant program authorizes the potential reimbursement of up to $21.7 million over 12 years to the energy company. Over that time period, the battery factory is estimated to grow the state's economy by $3.4 billion.
The state also expects to provide Edgecombe County a grant of up to $30 million from the North Carolina Megasite Readiness Program. The grant program helps provide funds to local governments to help prepare or upgrade qualifying industrial sites to the competitive level required in today's economic development marketplace, according to a release from Gov. Roy Cooper's office.
“Natron Energy’s choice to build this large and unique battery factory in our state will help the nation reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating good jobs in Rocky Mount, Nash and Edgecombe counties, and many other places in eastern North Carolina," Cooper said in a press release.
Meanwhile, Toyota is also building an electric battery megasite in Randolph County.
