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Chinese EV battery maker Gotion High-Tech picks Illinois for US$2 billion factory, starts production in 2024

  • Gotion High-Tech’s new facility, which received state incentives valued at US$536 million, is expected to create 2,600 jobs
  • The plant will focus on lithium-ion battery cell, battery-pack production and energy storage systems

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The facade of Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech Co’s headquarters in Hefei, capital of eastern Anhui province. Photo: Handout
Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech Co has picked the state of Illinois, in the midwestern United States, for a US$2 billion gigafactory that is set to start production next year.
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Gotion’s new facility in Kankakee County will create 2,600 jobs and is the “most significant new manufacturing investment in Illinois in decades”, Governor J B Pritzker said in a statement on Friday.

The plant, which will focus on lithium-ion battery cell, battery-pack production and energy storage systems, received state incentives valued at US$536 million.

Illinois has been trying to position itself as a hub for new technologies from quantum computing to life sciences and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.
Gotion High-Tech Co chairman Li Zhen sees “enormous value” from the company’s manufacturing expansion in Illinois. Photo: Weibo
Gotion High-Tech Co chairman Li Zhen sees “enormous value” from the company’s manufacturing expansion in Illinois. Photo: Weibo
The state has recently created a task force, known as Innovate Illinois, aimed at luring federal dollars, including from the Inflation Reduction Act. The law, signed by US President Joe Biden just over a year ago, provides generous tax credits and grants for EV, battery and clean energy projects, sparking a competition among states to offer their own incentives to attract these industries.
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