Dow Kokam plans to build an 800,000sqft facility in two overlapping construction phases. On completion, the facility will employ nearly 800 people, and will have the capacity to produce 1.2 billion watt hours of large-format lithium-ion batteries.
Dow Kokam, which has committed to spend $322m for the first phase of construction, will use $161m Department of Energy (DOE) Recovery Act grant for the purpose. The first phase of construction has a targeted capacity of 600 million watt hours and will employ up to 320 people at steady state.
According to the company, the prismatic lithium-ion batteries, to be produced in the new facility, will provide great volumetric and gravimetric energy density, storing up to three times more energy than nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries and have over 10 years of operations life.
Dow Kokam joint venture has received more than $180m in tax incentives from the state of Michigan to accelerate the state and nation’s commercial success in advanced batteries.
Ravi Shanker, CEO of Dow Kokam, said: “We’re making history today for Michigan and for the adoption of alternative energy by the automotive industry.
“In just nine short months, Dow Kokam has moved from formation to construction of a manufacturing facility to meet the needs of the next generation of the auto industry.”
