Microvast plans $504 million plant
State’s latest EV industry investment is in Hopkinsville
AFTER CONSIDERING MULTIPLE STATES, Microvast Advanced Membrane Inc. decided Kentucky is the best location to build the world’s first mass production facility for the company’s cutting edge components that are key to electric vehicle (EV) battery safety.
In addition to the safety technology in these components, called polyaramid separators, Microvast aims for its proprietary technology to improve EV charging with batteries that can withstand higher temperatures and last longer.
Construction of the $504 million, 350,000-square-foot building on 100 acres in Hopkinsville is slated to be complete by spring 2025.
“We are pleased to expand our manufacturing footprint into Kentucky and are eager to work closely with the local community as we begin construction,” says Yang Wu, Microvast’s founder, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “This material took over 10 years to develop internally, and we believe it offers significant safety advantages compared to other polypropylene or polyethylene separator technology available today.”
Projected to create 562 full-time jobs, the facility will be served by Pennyrile Electric, an electric cooperative with more than 47,000 consumer-members in nine counties.
“Pennyrile Electric and the Tennessee Valley Authority are so pleased to welcome Microvast as the newest member of our cooperative,” says Alan Gates, the co-op’s president and CEO. “We know that for companies like Microvast to be able to innovate and thrive, they need safe and reliable electric service, delivered as efficiently as possible. We take their confidence in us and TVA seriously.”
A developer of safe, long-life, fast-charging batteries for commercial vehicles, such as buses and construction trucks, Microvast is an industry leader in lithium-ion battery innovation and technology, producing materials, individual battery cells and commercial vehicle and energy storage systems.
