GROUNDBREAKING ADVANCES EMERGING VEHICLE BATTERY PRODUCTION

Kentucky reached another stage in developing an electric vehicle battery sector, with groundbreaking for a $2 billion plant by a Japanese company that will create 2,000 full-time jobs.

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The Envision AESC factory at Bowling Green in south-central Kentucky will produce battery cells and modules that will power electric vehicles produced by multiple automakers.

“The EV batteries will be in vehicles all around the world, and we’re pretty proud they’re going to be made right here in Kentucky,” Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said at the groundbreaking event with state and local officials.

Envision AESC U.S. Managing Director Jeff Deaton said the state and local support reflects a “shared ambition to be national leaders in the e-mobility transformation in the United States.”

The Bowling Green operation is expected to power up to 300,000 vehicles annually by 2027.

Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, a Republican, said that the project strengthens the Bluegrass State’s place in the emerging electric vehicle market.

Envision AESC announced it had picked the fast-growing college town last April. The sprawling factory will be built at the Kentucky Transpark at Bowling Green.