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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

GE Expands Advanced Battery Production Investment To $170 million In Upstate New York

07/13/2012
GE will invest another $70 million to double the production of a new $100 million advanced battery manufacturing plant in Schenectady, New York, which at full capacity will employ 450 workers.

The plant is already producing GE's next-generation Durathon batteries, which the firm said is half the size of conventional lead-acid batteries, but lasts ten times as long.

The plant, as large as four football fields, is the flagship of a new business called GE Energy Storage.

"Researchers in our labs saw a need and invented a new battery, one that was simple in ingredients but advanced in science and design, and which contains more than 30 GE patents," says Jeff Immelt, GE president and CEO. "It soon became obvious that we weren't just making a new battery; we were building a new business. GE teams went to work designing an advanced manufacturing process to build the battery efficiently and a go-to-market strategy to ensure it can reach customers where they work." Immelt said the GE expects the business to "generate more than $1 billion in revenue annually in just a few years."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said, "This is another exciting, job creating innovation come to life right here in the Capital Region. New York's tech sector has become an international leader in research and development of the technologies of the future and this administration is committed to keeping New York's tech sector working and growing. I applaud GE for this momentous investment in New York and look forward to continuing to work with them to create jobs and grow our economy."

Carol E Murphy, executive director of Alliance for Clean Energy New York, a statewide coalition dedicated to promoting clean energy and energy efficiency technologies, said; "we applaud GE for its continued investment in New York and look forward to the growth of its new energy storage business. By increasing energy efficiency and the ability to work in concert with renewable energy technologies, advanced energy storage has a very important role to play in building a sustainable future. GE has consistently been at the forefront of innovation and job creation in New York's clean tech sector."

"New York has already laid the groundwork for world-class research and development in clean energy and energy efficiency. GE has shown us, with strong support and coordination between the public and private sectors, manufacturing and commercialization of these advanced technologies is yet another opportunity for job creation and investment," Murphy added.

As part of an incentive package, the firm received $25 million in federal tax credits with the state awarding $15 million worth of incentives and tax abatements, Schenectady County contributed $5 million in funding and tax breaks.

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