EV battery startup plans $1.6 billion gigafactory, 2,112 jobs in Wayne County

[Airforceguy]

Great win for Wayne County!!

Fast scaling startup Our Next Energy Inc. is planning a $1.6 billion electric vehicle battery plant and 2,112 new jobs in Van Buren Township, with a $237 million jolt of state incentives.The planned plant at 42060 Ecorse Road would have a capacity of 20 GWh, produce 200,000 units per year by 2027 and serve as a new model for a battery plant anchored by a localized supply chain, said ONE CEO Mujeeb Ijaz.
The plans for the factory, named ONE Circle, mark the most significant milestone to date for the Novi-based startup. Within the 659,589-square-foot plant, the company's unique battery chemistry, which boasts increased range at deceased costs, will be mass produced for the first time with the potential to shift the EV battery landscape.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufa...buren-township

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

This is great news. I read that thier Gemini prototype battery acheived 752 miles in a Tesla driving 55 mph.

Granted, we drive faster than that on the highway. But its quite conceivable that with all of the research being done, the technology will rapidly progress and mileage greatly increase.

[401don]

200,000 sounds like a lot but when you think that U.S. auto sales are about 17 million per year that's a lot of battery plants.

[Lowell]

Also nice in the report was this line...

The average hourly wage at the plant will be $35 in year six, above the local living wage target of $22.57, according to state officials. ONE plans to work with Focus:HOPE to develop a program that will provide skills-based training to employees.

[masterblaster]

This is greats news for adding jobs to the metro, but seems like a missed opportunity because it creates more job sprawl in the region. That land could have been preserved as a nature preserve, and this plant located in Detroit or Highland Park in the square miles of vacant land of those 2 municipalities. Duggan demolished the State Fairgrounds, this would have been good there. Oh well, much better than nothing.

[casscorridor]

This is greats news for adding jobs to the metro, but seems like a missed opportunity because it creates more job sprawl in the region. That land could have been preserved as a nature preserve, and this plant located in Detroit or Highland Park in the square miles of vacant land of those 2 municipalities. Duggan demolished the State Fairgrounds, this would have been good there. Oh well, much better than nothing.

Michigan has been struggling to assemble large enough tracts of land [[and not to mention provide adequate incentives) needed by battery manufactures, losing to states such as Ohio.

While it would be great if a gigafactory could be built in Detroit city, are there really any large enough tracts of land ready for development? And by ready I mean, ready for construction tomorrow, not tearing down decrepit structures, ripping out existing infrastructure, which could take months if not years.

[Richard]

Michigan has been struggling to assemble large enough tracts of land [[and not to mention provide adequate incentives) needed by battery manufactures, losing to states such as Ohio.

While it would be great if a gigafactory could be built in Detroit city, are there really any large enough tracts of land ready for development? And by ready I mean, ready for construction tomorrow, not tearing down decrepit structures, ripping out existing infrastructure, which could take months if not years.

The state is talking about converting 1000s of acres of farm lands into solar and windmill farms.

This company found enough land to build this battery manufacturing plant,Ford or GM apparently could not do they moved it to the southern states.

Maybe the answer for Detroit as a city is to not try and grab mega companies that require hundreds of acres,but all of those companies require somebody to supply all those little parts that are used in the finial assembly..

No city in the country has advocated or proposed a giga factory placed smack dab in their center.

The difference in Detroit is all of those factories built back in the day were built before the people came and were somewhat in a rural center,I kinda think that sometimes you have to take what you have to work with and maximize that instead of dreaming of what you want to do.

The mayor did say he will find the land one way or another at the summit thingy,but look at what happens when those giga places goes belly up or just shuts down?

You already have examples of that.

[313WX]

Michigan has been struggling to assemble large enough tracts of land [[and not to mention provide adequate incentives) needed by battery manufactures, losing to states such as Ohio.

While it would be great if a gigafactory could be built in Detroit city, are there really any large enough tracts of land ready for development? And by ready I mean, ready for construction tomorrow, not tearing down decrepit structures, ripping out existing infrastructure, which could take months if not years.

The main reason you left out for why Michigan keeps losing projects like this is the UAW.

They're already giving GM and LG the flux at the battery plant in Lordstown, OH that just started production.

[Dmberko11]

Also nice in the report was this line...

The average hourly wage at the plant will be $35 in year six, above the local living wage target of $22.57, according to state officials. ONE plans to work with Focus:HOPE to develop a program that will provide skills-based training to employees.

$35 an hour is great. Big win for Detroit. I live in Austin now where Tesla built their giga factory and that will be a boon for the D. Much needed jobs. So happy for my hometown

[Rocket]

200,000 sounds like a lot but when you think that U.S. auto sales are about 17 million per year that's a lot of battery plants.

Yeah, they'll need to build 30 more plants like this in the US [[450 new factories that size world-wide), and then strip mine the entire surface of the planet looking for the lithium and blood minerals needed.

Then come up with an entirely new technology in 20 years after the entire surface of the earth has been destroyed by strip mining.

It turns out, saving the environment is hard.

[Gistok]

I didn't want to open another thread for this EV accident... but wow... just wow...

Tesla Crash Explodes Batteries, Parts, and Rips Tire Into Homes [[msn.com)

[Henry Whalley]

I didn't want to open another thread for this EV accident... but wow... just wow...

Tesla Crash Explodes Batteries, Parts, and Rips Tire Into Homes [[msn.com)

Elon Musk is no Albert Einstein.

[Henry Whalley]

Tesla is a shitty dangerous automobile.

[Rocket]

Tesla is a shitty dangerous automobile.

I've driven the S and the X. Not very nice cars to drive. Also quite noisy inside.

But any vehicle will have some sort of issue like this. To make a car go a long ways means having a huge amt of stored energy on board. Tank of gasoline, Hydrogen, batteries..

Both gas and hydrogen are very flammable, but gasoline is run at a slight vacuum, just leaks out onto the ground if the tank gets punctured, and then produces a smoky and easily visible flame if lit.

Hydrogen on the other hand is far more dangerous as it's flame is hard to see, it doesn't produce any smoke, and it needs to be stored at about 10,000 psi. So it's a literal bomb waiting to go off.

[K-slice]

This is greats news for adding jobs to the metro, but seems like a missed opportunity because it creates more job sprawl in the region. That land could have been preserved as a nature preserve, and this plant located in Detroit or Highland Park in the square miles of vacant land of those 2 municipalities. Duggan demolished the State Fairgrounds, this would have been good there. Oh well, much better than nothing.

Agree 100%. The continued sprawl in this region is ridiculous. In another 10 years the area between A2 and Canton will undoubtable be filled in with cul-de-sacs and strip malls.

The Focus: Hope connecting is also kinda laughable if you think about it. They choose to build wayyyy out in the exurbs in a majority middle/upper middle class area, while Focus: Hope is based in the inner city helping majority poor and lower working class people, who live nowhere near where this will be built. How do they expect people in Detroit, HP, Hamtramck, or even inner ring burbs like Warren to get to these great paying jobs?

Well, I'll tell you, they won't.

Keep destroying wetlands and forests to sprawl out further, while cities continue to suffer.

[401don]

Agree 100%. The continued sprawl in this region is ridiculous. In another 10 years the area between A2 and Canton will undoubtable be filled in with cul-de-sacs and strip malls.

The Focus: Hope connecting is also kinda laughable if you think about it. They choose to build wayyyy out in the exurbs in a majority middle/upper middle class area, while Focus: Hope is based in the inner city helping majority poor and lower working class people, who live nowhere near where this will be built. How do they expect people in Detroit, HP, Hamtramck, or even inner ring burbs like Warren to get to these great paying jobs?

Well, I'll tell you, they won't.

Keep destroying wetlands and forests to sprawl out further, while cities continue to suffer.

If anything, it may provide an opportunity at home ownership in Taylor, Wayne, Inkster, etc. - a win for those workers but not for Detroit.

[Rocket]

How do they expect people in Detroit, HP, Hamtramck, or even inner ring burbs like Warren to get to these great paying jobs?

Well, I'll tell you, they won't.

They probably don't perceive there to be a lot of unemployed tech sector capable workers in Detroit.

Once you remove the illiterate [60% of the Detroit population?], the ones with drug issues, mental illness and bad criminal records, you'll find there aren't a lot of unemployed people left available.

It's not like there are a bunch of tech sector workers sitting around in Detroit who can't find jobs.

And the ones in the surrounding areas won't be excited to commute INTO Detroit, both because of crime, the roads, and the 4% Detroit City Income Tax penalty.

Then there's the uncertainty of what the next City Council might do. I know that if I had billions to invest in a plant, I wouldn't do it in Detroit.

[401don]

They probably don't perceive there to be a lot of unemployed tech sector capable workers in Detroit.

Once you remove the illiterate [60% of the Detroit population?], the ones with drug issues, mental illness and bad criminal records, you'll find there aren't a lot of unemployed people left available.

It's not like there are a bunch of tech sector workers sitting around in Detroit who can't find jobs.

And the ones in the surrounding areas won't be excited to commute INTO Detroit, both because of crime, the roads, and the 4% Detroit City Income Tax penalty.

Then there's the uncertainty of what the next City Council might do. I know that if I had billions to invest in a plant, I wouldn't do it in Detroit.

Who says they have to be unemployed? Plenty of underemployed who could benefit from a raise to $25-35 per hour, leaving more low wage jobs available for those with a lesser skill set.

[K-slice]

They probably don't perceive there to be a lot of unemployed tech sector capable workers in Detroit.

This is a factory, you don't need many [[if any) Tech sector workers on a factory floor.

Once you remove the illiterate [60% of the Detroit population?], the ones with drug issues, mental illness and bad criminal records, you'll find there aren't a lot of unemployed people left available.

This is just flat out wrong. A strawman argument based off made up stats. And a criminal record or past drug issues aren't automatic disqualifier for working in a factory anyways...

And the ones in the surrounding areas won't be excited to commute INTO Detroit, both because of crime, the roads, and the 4% Detroit City Income Tax penalty.

Cities are where jobs are supposed to be, that's how highly functional urban areas work. If you live on the outskirts expect a commute to work. And the city tax rate isn't 4% for anyone.

[Rocket]

Who says they have to be unemployed? Plenty of underemployed who could benefit from a raise to $25-35 per hour, leaving more low wage jobs available for those with a lesser skill set.

Very true.

But Detroit businesses are suffering mightily right now from lack of employable workers. We've long since maxed out the Peter Principal.

Would collapsing 500 - 1,000 smaller businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores, bars, plumbers, etc to make way for one battery factory be a net benefit for Detroit? I'm not sure, but it might be a tough place to get people to live in when you can't eat out.

It makes a lot more sense to build it where you're not robbing Peter to pay Paul. And of course that's just from our perspective.


What matters most is what the company thinks, and no good CEO is going to put their company in a situation where they're perpetually desperate for qualified people while simultaneously paying higher than average taxes.

A company that just needs office space sure. If needed, you can just pack up and move the company to Southfield or Northville. But investing 1.6 billion in a massive plant that has no other use means being stuck there for decades. They'd better be VERY careful where they land.

As a CEO, you're looking for low taxes, a conservative, business friendly voter base [hence a conservative, business friendly Mayor and city council], high education rates, low crime, etc.

[Richard]

How come they left out this part ?

Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech Co. was awarded $175 million in grants and a zoning designation estimated to be valued at $540 million, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The company has proposed investing $2.4 billion in a plant in Big Rapids, Michigan, to build battery anodes and cathodes and employ as many as 2,350 people according to proposal documents from the MEDC, though the project isn’t yet confirmed.

https://financialpost.com/pmn/busine...ht-for-ev-jobs

I think it is great that Michigan is supporting the Chinese in their ventures on U.S. soil .

Hopefully they will continue the tradition of undercutting everybody else until they are bankrupt so they can control,like they did to the solar industry,it’s good for the consumer and helps build a better China.

One [[Our Next Energy) BMW as investors
Gotion is partially owned by Volkswagen.

It is interesting with all of these battery manufacturing facilities.

They all claim to be hiring the same amount of employees with the same production outputs but yet the initial investments vary from $250 million up to $4.5 billion,and that is the major players

Toyota,LG,Hyundai,Honda etc

Tesla is the only one it seems that is into billion dollar factories.

Thats a lot of money and taxpayer dollars being gambled on the hopes that a majority of Americans will switch to EVs in the next 7 years,I remember when the exact same dream was being played out in the solar industry,economic downturn came about,political will changed,the funding dried up as soon as the government incentives stopped and the whole market imploded in a matter of months,billions lost and hundreds of thousands of jobs lost overnight.

Hydrogen powered cars are being released in Australia,950 miles between re-fuel,$49,500 for a Toyota but yet here we are in America laser focused on $80,000 EVs as the only future,wonder why that is.

I guess we are a bit more excited about killing the planet faster with EVs then in expanding with less destructive means.

I know one thing for sure with the recent flooding and hurricanes,EVs have a tendency to burn to the ground and explode when water gets into them.

Would hate to be driving one and enter a flooded street like you see so many do,it would be the first and last time.

Saltwater damage from Hurricane Ian has left South Florida with a new danger: electric vehicles [[EVs) that spontaneously combust.

For example in North Collier, Fla., near Naples, firefighters put out six EV blazes - their first ever experience with such fires, E&E News reported.
One burning EV in North Collier continuously reignited, despite being constantly doused with "tens-of-thousands of gallons of water" - before catching fire again later on the tow truck, Patronis wrote Musk.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...%20ABC%20News.

[masterblaster]

They probably don't perceive there to be a lot of unemployed tech sector capable workers in Detroit.

Once you remove the illiterate [60% of the Detroit population?], the ones with drug issues, mental illness and bad criminal records, you'll find there aren't a lot of unemployed people left available.

It's not like there are a bunch of tech sector workers sitting around in Detroit who can't find jobs.

And the ones in the surrounding areas won't be excited to commute INTO Detroit, both because of crime, the roads, and the 4% Detroit City Income Tax penalty.

Then there's the uncertainty of what the next City Council might do. I know that if I had billions to invest in a plant, I wouldn't do it in Detroit.

The city income tax is 2.4% resident, 1.2% non-resident you perpetual City of Detroit hater/troll.