EV Battery Plant in New Carlisle, Ind., Clears Next Hurdle

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – New details surrounding a potential electric vehicle battery plant in New Carlisle were unveiled during a St. Joseph County Council meeting Tuesday night (Aug. 23), according to a report by Inside INdiana Business.

The council unanimously approved a declaratory resolution establishing an economic revitalization area inside the Indiana Enterprise Center for Ultium Cells LLC’s plans for a $2.4 billion facility that would create 1,600 jobs. However, the joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution is still considering other sites and has not yet committed to a location.

John Blanchard, director of government relations for GM, was part of the presentation to the council.

“We hope to have a decision on a potential project yet this year, [a] very aggressive timeline,” said Blanchard. “Once we’ve decided on a location, we anticipate the start of construction to late 2022 or early into 2023, and then the start of operations would be in 2025.”

Ultium says the estimated 1,600 jobs associated with the project, which would come with an average hourly wage of $22.60. The facility would also cover about 2.5 million square feet of space, according to Blanchard.

Tom Gallagher, vice president of operations for Ultium, told the council the project would also create up to 2,000 construction jobs. He said the company would also be on the lookout for partnerships to find the necessary workforce.

Read the full report by Inside INdiana Business.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/ev-battery-plant-in-new-carlisle-ind-clears-next-hurdle/