By Li Panpan

Through its American subsidiary, Chinese power battery manufacturer Gotion Hi-Tech(国轩高科) will invest approximately $2.364 billion in a battery manufacturing plant in Big Rapids, Michigan. This will be the largest economic development project ever undertaken in northern Michigan that will create 2,350 jobs, said the official website of the Michigan state government in a recent statement.

The Michigan local media Detroit News reported that the plant will be completed in 2030 and is expected to produce 150,000 tons of battery cathode materials and 50,000 tons of anode materials per year.

Gotion Hi-Tech has also become the first Chinese lithium battery company to build a factory in the United States after the Inflation Reduction Act was introduced this August.

The bill requires a tax credit of $7,500 per electric vehicle, emphasizing that raw subsidized power battery materials should be manufactured in North America, supporting North American production of automobiles and battery components.

In December last year, Gotion Hi-Tech announced a strategic agreement with a large US-listed car company on the supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries. The company will purchase lithium iron phosphate batteries with a total volume of not less than 200 GWh from 2023 to 2028, which Gotion Hi-Tech will meet through exports and new factories in the US.

The car company plans to pay upfront payments in stages to support Gotion Hi-Tech’s costs for building a factory in the US.