Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech has chosen Illinois as the site for its new state-of-the-art $2 billion electric vehicle (EV) lithium battery manufacturing plant, the state’s governor said on Sept. 8.
The factory will be built on a sprawling 150-acre site in Manteno, Illinois, and is expected to begin production next year. It'll focus on lithium-ion battery cells, battery packs, and energy storage systems integration.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker referred to Gotion’s new facility as “the most significant new manufacturing investment in Illinois in decades,” which he said will help to create 2,600 new jobs.
“It’s my pleasure to welcome a world-leading battery manufacturer—Gotion—to Illinois.”
Global EV battery makers and automakers have been eyeing the North American market for new manufacturing plants as they look to diversify supply chains and attract incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Gotion’s total incentive package from Illinois is valued at $536 million. The company will be eligible for tax benefits totaling $213 million over 30 years and also get $125 million in capital funding from the state’s Reimagining Energy and Vehicles incentive package.
Local authorities also approved a property tax abatement for 30 years for Gotion. Once completed, the facility is expected to produce 10 GWh of lithium-ion battery packs and 40 GWh of lithium-ion battery cells.
Gotion Unit Plans Factory in Michigan
Gotion Inc. announced last month that it was building a $2.36 billion EV battery factory in Michigan, near Big Rapids in Mecosta County.Gotion Inc. secured $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer support for the Michigan facility at an overall cost of $2.4 billion, according to reports. Concerns about the deal have been raised by Michigan residents, Republicans, and environmental groups.
The document states that Fremont, California-based Gotion is “wholly owned and controlled” by Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese company based near Hefei, China.
The document also asks the registrant to state if “this foreign principal,” meaning the U.S. company Gotion is either “supervised,” “directed,” or “financed” by “a foreign government, foreign political party, or other foreign principal.”
Gotion’s answer to this was “no,” even as the company is “completely controlled” by China-based Gotion High-Tech.
The document also asks if the “foreign principal,” or Gotion Inc., will engage in “political activities.” Gotion’s answer to this was “yes.”
Chuck Thelen, Gotion’s North American manufacturing vice president, has dismissed those concerns and said that Gotion Inc. is “not Chinese-owned.”
“The rumors that you’ve heard about us bringing communism to North America are just flat-out fear-mongering and really have nothing based in reality,” he said in August, according to Politico.
All companies in China, including foreign companies, are required by law to have within their structure a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) office that supervises the company’s operations.
