Workers who have been laid off in the Southeast now have a new opportunity. With the emergence of electric vehicle battery plants in the region, there are accompanying good jobs, which pay better than any of the previous positions in the textile or furniture industries from years past.
These EV battery plants are revitalizing areas that were left economically deprived by factory closures, to the extent that the region has earned itself a new nickname: the Battery Belt. This term refers to a geographic manufacturing sector that is evolving into the hub for the domestic cleantech supply chain.
In Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, several multi-billion dollar battery and battery component factories have either opened or been announced.
However, the growth of the battery industry is not occurring in isolation. To capitalize on the economic, environmental, and social benefits of establishing a robust EV battery industry, the Biden-Harris administration has explicitly crafted policies to bring manufacturing and technology research, development, and production back to the US.
In an effort to stimulate growth, the administration initiated the American Battery Materials Initiative and allocated $2.8 billion in grants from the DOE to expand the battery mineral and material supply chain.
However, it’s not just blue states that are reaping the rewards of these Democratic-led initiatives. A multitude of jobs in the Battery Belt are being created in Republican-leaning states as well.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will bring investments expected to exceed $80 billion and create 49,000 new jobs across the US. The Southeast will receive 49.4% of the total 77 EV battery and associated industry projects. Automotive manufacturing has been a staple in the Southeastern US since the 1990s, but historically, the majority of EV batteries have been manufactured in Asia.
However, this is changing.
One example is Toyota’s first EV battery factory in Liberty, North Carolina. With an estimated cost of $14 billion, it is projected to employ around 6,000 people and become operational in 2025.
According to a company press release, the Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC), will advance Toyota’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions through hybrid and battery electric vehicles. The jobs at TBMNC will reflect future trends: as reported by NPR, training for positions at Toyota takes place in simulated clean rooms, involving tasks such as precision automation, the ability to manipulate robotics, and handling assistive tools, with a maximum lifting capacity of 33 pounds.
The evolution of US-based manufacturing is reshaping the dynamics and creating fresh opportunities in states equipped with abundant utilities, labor, and raw materials necessary for production.
Why does the US Southeast stand out as an ideal location for battery manufacturing?
The region’s potential includes
- Ample land
- Critical infrastructure, including highways
- Economic incentives and favorable workplace conditions
- Port connectivity
- Access to raw materials
- Business-friendly environments, characterized by laws that discourage strong unions
However, the region may also present obstacles to battery manufacturing, such as:
- Labor shortages
- Challenges in securing construction funding
- Substantial utility requirements
- Complex permitting processes
The new jobs will simply involve a one-stop manufacturing site. According to a December 2023 report by Cushman & Wakefield, this spatial proximity not only reduces shipping costs but also enhances overall production efficiency in the electric vehicle ecosystem. The report highlights:
The US Department of Energy predicts that US battery production will skyrocket by 18 times between 2021 and 2030.
Batteries represent a crucial segment within the EV supply chain, prompting suppliers and secondary vendors to recognize the strategic benefit of proximity to manufacturing facilities and automakers. Communities specializing in midstream supplier manufacturing are thus less vulnerable to economic upheaval resulting from the transition to EVs.
A series of real estate and industrial events described in the Cushman & Wakefield report vividly illustrate the transformation underway in the Battery Belt, catalysed by IRA investment.
The largest lithium-ion deposit in the US — and one of the world’s most productive lithium mines — is situated just west of Charlotte in Kings Mountain, known as the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt.
Albemarle, a chemical manufacturer, acquired the Kings Mountain mine and adjacent land as part of its acquisition of Rockwood Holdings in 2015. In 2021, the company established the Battery Materials Innovation Center (BMIC), a cutting-edge battery technology laboratory on the site.
Piedmont Lithium is in the planning phase for a proposed mine in Belmont. The company is actively engaged in the state permitting process with the aim of commencing construction in 2025, pending project approval. Piedmont Lithium owns, leases, or has contracts for 3,600 acres in Gaston County for the project and anticipates employing over 425 individuals upon full development.
In the vicinity of Raleigh-Durham, VinFast and Wolfspeed alone will contribute nearly 2.0 million square feet of manufacturing capacity to Chatham County.
Called BATT CAVE (North Carolina Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle, and Electrification Research Center), the $40 million autonomous vehicle and electrification research centre at UNC Charlotte aims to cultivate a new talent pool for the electric vehicle industry in collaboration with GM, BMW, Albemarle, Duke Energy and the US Department of Energy.