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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Forge Nano Plans Morrisville, North Carolina, Lithium-ion Battery Operations

11/16/2023
Forge Nano, Inc., a materials science company that enables peak performance products through atomic-level surface engineering, plans to establish lithium-ion battery operations in Morrisville, North Carolina. The more than $165 million project is expected to create hundreds of jobs in Wake County.

The new facility will produce high-performance lithium-ion batteries that meet or beat performance targets of industry standard lithium-ion technology.

“Lithium-ion cells utilizing Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor technology have exceeded our customer’s expectations, and in turn, increased demand for the technology that outstrips the current manufacturing capabilities,” says Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano. “We are extremely excited to launch Forge Battery in North Carolina, where we intend to produce batteries for the world’s most demanding applications, while showcasing the power of Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor coating equipment in a large-scale manufacturing environment.”

The project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $655 million. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by 204 new jobs and the company’s original capital investment target of $142 million, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $1,525,500, spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

Because Forge Battery chose a site in Wake County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving $508,500 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Wake, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps other economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state.

“Innovation is the heartbeat of the clean energy revolution we’re seeing today,” noted North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “I’m pleased an innovative company like Forge Battery has seen and appreciated North Carolina’s many competitive advantages for battery manufacturers, and I know they’ll find both the engineers and operational workers here that will spell success for their company.”

Forge Nano improves the performance of materials used in batteries by applying specialized, atomic-scale coatings using proprietary industrial manufacturing equipment. The technology, called Atomic Armor, offers manufacturers protective nano-coating that can increase the battery’s energy density, improve safety, and extend usable lifetime.

In addition to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), other key partners in the project were North Carolina Department of Commerce, North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, Duke Energy, North Carolina State University, the Wake County Board of Commissioners, Wake Tech Community College, the Capital Area Workforce Development Board, the City of Morrisville, and Wake County Economic Development, a program of the Raleigh Chamber.

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