No surprise, then, that more than half a dozen of this year’s Project of the Year awards are related to EVs or the batteries that will power them. The projects can be found all over the country, from Kansas to the Carolinas, bearing only a few names that are likely to be familiar and many that are relatively new to the motor vehicle world.
The biggest project on this particular list is the Hyundai Motor Group’s $5.5 billion EV and battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia. It’ll be the South Korean automaker’s first American plant dedicated to EVs, and when it opens in 2025, it will be on the way toward employing 8,100 people and turning out as many as 300,000 EVs a year. It’s the biggest economic development project in Georgia history.
Next-biggest in terms of potential job creation is a project from a name less familiar, VinFast. The relatively young company is a Vietnamese maker of electric cars, and it chose Moncure, North Carolina, for its $4 billion plant that could ultimately hire as many as 7,500 people. The company had originally planned to begin production next year but announced in April that its target date has been moved to 2025.
Panasonic Energy Co. is working on a lithium-ion battery plant in De Soto, Kansas, that is also a $4 billion investment. It hopes to be mass producing batteries by the spring of 2025. Batteries are also the business of Michigan-based Our Next Energy (or ONE for short). Last fall, the company cut the ribbon on its headquarters in Novi, Michigan, where a $1.6 billion battery manufacturing operation is expected to ultimately create 2,112 jobs.
EV batteries are also powering massive Projects of the Year in Kentucky, South Carolina, and Indiana. Some 2,000 jobs are on the way in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where Envision AESC is spending $2 billion on a plant that will ultimately employ 2,000 people. A next-generation technology in Envision batteries is expected to increase the range and reduce the charging time.
A former Tesla executive is the cofounder of Redwood Materials, which is bringing its battery business to Ridgeville, South Carolina. It’s spending $3.5 billion on a factory that will hire some 1,500 people — its niche is using as much recycled material as possible in its batteries. And the Indiana community of Kokomo, which has a long history in manufacturing automotive components, will be home of a StarPlus Energy gigafactory. The company is spending more than $2.5 billion on a 1,400-employee battery plant. StarPlus Energy a is a joint venture involving Samsung SDI and automaker Stellantis, which already has a massive Chrysler transmission plant in Kokomo.
2023 PLATINUM Shovel Awards: The Winning States
- North Carolina (10+ Million Population)
2023 Gold Shovel Awards: The Winning States
- Ohio (10+ Million Population)
- Arizona (6+ to 10 Million Population)
- Kentucky (4+ to 6 Million Population)
- Kansas (2+ to 4 Million Population)
- Idaho (Under 2 Million Population)
2023 Silver Shovel Awards
10+ Million Population Category
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Texas
6+ to 10 Million Population Category
- Virginia
- Indiana
- Tennessee
4+ to 6 Million Population Category
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Wisconsin
2+ to 4 Million Population Category
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Mississippi
- Utah
Under 2 Million Population Category
- South Dakota
- West Virginia
2023 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: Projects Of The Year (2022)
2023 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: Top 2022 Projects By State
EVs and Lithium-Ion Battery Projects
| Company | City/County | # Jobs | Inv. Amt. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC | Montgomery, AL | 200 | $300 million |
| Mobis North America Electrified Powertrain, LLC | Montgomery, AL | 400 | $205.1 million |
| LG Energy Solution | Queen Creek, AZ | 1,500 | $1.4 billion |
| American Battery Factory | Tucson, AZ | 1,000 | $1.2 billion |
| Hyundai Motor Group | Ellabell, GA | 8,100 | $5.5 billion |
| FREYR Battery | Newnan, GA | 700 | $2.6 billion |
| Dieomatic Inc. | Williamsburg, IA | 521 | $46 million |
| T/CCI | Decatur, IL | 50 | $20 million |
| Starplus Energy LLC | Kokomo, IN | 1,400 | $2.7 billion |
| General Motors LLC | Marion, IN | 0 | $453.9 million |
| Panasonic Corporation of America | De Soto, KS | 4,000 | $4 billion |
| Envision AESC US | Bowling Green, KY | 2,000 | $2 billion |
| Ascend Elements, Inc. | Hopkinsville, KY | 400 | $941 million |
| General Motors LLC | Orion Township, MI | 2,300 | $4 billion |
| Ultium Cells LLC | Lansing, MI | 1,700 | $2.5 billion |
| LG Energy Solution Michigan, Inc. | Holland, MI | 1,200 | $1.7 billion |
| Our Next Energy (ONE) | Novi, MI | 2,112 | $1.6 billion |
| Magna Electric Vehicle Structures | St. Clair, MI | 1,224 | $196.4 million |
| Piston Automotive | Wentzville, MO | 204 | $10 million |
| Nissan | Canton, MS | N/A | $500 million |
| VinFast | Moncure, NC | 7,500 | $4 billion |
| Redwood Materials, Inc. | Storey, NV | 701 | $1.1 billion |
| Electrovaya | Elliott, NY | 250 | $75 million |
| GM Components | Lockport, NY | 230 | $117 million |
| Li-Cycle | Rochester, NY | 270 | $359.3 million |
| Hondal/LG Energy Solution | Jefferson Township, Marysville, Anna, East Liberty, OH | 2,527 | $4.2 billion |
| Ford Motor Company | Avon Lake, OH | 2,000 | $1.5 billion |
| SEMCORP Manufacturing USA | Sidney, OH | 1,199 | $915 million |
| Crane Carrier Corporation | New Philadephia, OH | 434 | $15 million |
| Redwood Materials | Ridgeville, SC | 1,500 | $3.5 billion |
| BMW Manufacturing | Woodruff, SC | 300 | $1.7 billion |
| Envision AESC | Florence, SC | 1,170 | $810 million |
| Kontrolmatik Technologies | Walterboro, SC | 575 | $279 million |
| BMW | Greer, SC | 200 | $200 million |
| Ultium Cells LLC | Spring Hill, TN | 400 | $275 million |
| Duksan Electera America, Inc. | Shelbyville, TN | 101 | $94.6 million |
| GreenPower Motor Co. | Kanawha County, WV | 200 | $6.7 million |
Semiconductor/Chips Projects
| Company | City/County | # Jobs | Inv. Amt. |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSMC | Phoenix, AZ | 2,500 | $28 billion |
| KPCT Advanced Chemicals | Casa Grande, AZ | 65 | $200 million |
| Chang Chun Arizona | Casa Grande, AZ | 300 | $300 million |
| ASML | Wilton, CT | 1,000 | $200 million |
| Micron | Boise, ID | 2,000 | $15 billion |
| SkyWater Technology Foundry, Inc. | West Lafayette, IN | 750 | $1.8 billion |
| Nhanced Semiconductors, Inc. | Odon, IN | 413 | $355.6 million |
| Edwards Vacuum | Alabama, NY | 599 | $319 million |
| Micron | Clay, NY | 9,000 | $100 billion |
| Wolfspeed | Siler City, NC | 1,801 | $5 billion |
| Intel Corporation | New Albany, OH | 3,000 | $20 billion |
| USA Rare Earth LLC | Stillwater, OK | 100 | $100 million |
| GlobiTech, Global Wafers USA | Sherman, TX | 1,500 | $5 billion |
| Texas Instruments | Sherman, TX | 3,000 | $29 billion |
