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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

LAVLE USA Eyes Headquarters-Operations in Anacortes, Washington State

10/19/2018
This summer LAVLE USA, Inc. will locate its headquarters on Fidalgo Island in Anacortes, Washington.

LAVLE is a joint venture company that combines advanced energy storage technologies from the Japanese battery company 3DOM with the best-in-class marine engineering, design, and systems integration services of Ockerman Automation to provide products and services to the defense, renewable energy, and marine transportation markets. In addition to Anacortes and Tokyo, LAVLE has a presence in Newport News, Virginia and has plans to expand there.

According to company officials, LAVLE has chosen to locate in Anacortes due to Washington State's existing marine design and technology cluster as well as the State's efforts to accelerate innovation in the maritime and clean energy sectors.

The company is also announcing a substantial capital investment into LAVLE from Japanese partners, representing one of the largest private financings of a WA-based company so far this year, company officials said. A majority of the capitalization is being provided by LAVLE's JV partner, 3DOM. LAVLE will draw on the products and experience of its partners to accelerate the electrification and hybridization of its key markets globally.

LAVLE said its joint venture comes at a critical time as the global marine transportation industry seeks to keep pace with the trend toward electrification to increase efficiency, reduce fuel and maintenance costs, and lower emissions.

LAVLE CEO, Dr. Jason Nye, who has held key positions with the State Department as well as working in the private sector said, "We chose to headquarter LAVLE in Anacortes not only because of its rich maritime history and status as a maritime center of excellence, but also because the San Juan Islands are representative of the pristine natural environment LAVLE wants to sustain.”

“ One of the early inspirations for creating LAVLE came from initiatives I supported between Washington Governor Inslee and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) that resulted in a memorandum of cooperation between the two. One of the areas of cooperation discussed was the electrification of marine vessels. Now, today, we also welcome our new Japanese corporate partners as people who share those values,” he said.

The CTO of LAVLE and Founder of Ockerman Automation, John Ockerman said, "As in the case of electric vehicles, hybrid and battery electric marine propulsion is increasingly becoming the norm for many types of vessels in the commercial and naval sectors. Batteries on the grid are also enabling the penetration of large amounts of renewable energy into the electrical grid. With our background, experience, and joint venture partners, LAVLE is well positioned for success in these markets. We are especially excited about some of the new storage technologies under development at 3DOM."

Consul General of Japan, Yoichiro Yamada, said on this occasion, "LAVLE represents a new frontier of Japan-Washington State economic cooperation as an innovative joint venture that will be a leader in the electrification of maritime transportation. This is a win-win-win for reducing a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, developing clean technology, and expanding the maritime sector."

The Governor's Maritime Sector Lead at the Washington State Department of Commerce, Joshua Berger said, "Washington State is quickly becoming a center of excellence for maritime electrification. This new joint venture shows that our efforts to accelerate innovation and the blue economy are attracting investment and expertise to our maritime communities. We hope to continue our support for efforts like these and continue to build on our important relationships with Japanese investors and technology developers."

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