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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Natron Energy Plans Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Operations

08/16/2024
Sodium-ion battery manufacturer Natron Energy, Inc. plans to establish operations in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. The approximately $1.4 billion project is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.

The investment will include the construction of a new sodium-ion battery gigafactory located at the Kingsboro Business Park megasite.

“North Carolina, with its leadership in clean energy manufacturing and commitment to fostering innovation, is an ideal home for Natron and this groundbreaking facility,” said Colin Wessells, Founder and co-CEO, Natron Energy. “This facility will drastically increase the company’s production capacity, creating a sustainable growth trajectory as we seek to fundamentally change the way that industrial power is used. We’re grateful for the partnership of Governor Cooper, Secretary Sanders, and various state and local officials for their support. We look forward to becoming a member of the North Carolina business community for years to come.”

Natron Energy’s project in the state, which will officially be executed through a newly formed subsidiary company, will be facilitated in part by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $3.4 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the 1,062 new jobs and the capital investment, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $21,747,000, 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.

“North Carolina has quickly become the heart of a rapidly growing network of battery manufacturers and their suppliers, which is turbocharging our state’s economy,” noted North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “I’m pleased to see a cutting-edge company like Natron Energy select one of our state’s premier megasites where I know they’ll thrive, thanks to North Carolina’s continued investments in infrastructure and workforce training systems.”

The state also anticipates providing additional support to the project with the first use of the North Carolina Megasite Readiness Program, a new state grant program open to local governments and designed to provide funds to help prepare or upgrade qualifying industrial sites to the competitive level required in today’s economic development marketplace. Grants from the Megasite Readiness Program are awarded to local governments and must be approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee, the same body that approves JDIG awards. The state expects Edgecombe County will be awarded a grant up to $30 million from the fund, subject to final approvals from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s Board of Directors and the EIC.

“In recent years, North Carolina has had considerable success in attracting large economic development projects, and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) was tasked to oversee the Megasite Readiness Program to better prepare our state to welcome more of that success,” added Christopher Chung, CEO of the EDPNC. “With the fund, the state can support the recruitment of large announcements like Natron, which will significantly positively impact Edgecombe County. We look forward to welcoming more projects to our current and future megasites.”

Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of N.C. on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Departments of Transportation and Environmental Quality, N.C. Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions, CSX, the North Carolina Railroad Company, Dominion Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, Edgecombe Community College, Edgecombe County, and the Carolinas Gateway Partnership.

Santa Clara, California-based Natron Energy, focuses on the research, development, and manufacturing of sodium-ion batteries. The company's battery cells leverage its patented Prussian blue electrodes to deliver safe, high-power, long-life battery energy storage solutions. Natron’s sodium-ion batteries are non-flammable and cannot be induced to thermal runaway.

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