June 29, 2021—Battery materials company NOVONIX plans to purchase and retrofit an existing facility to expand is production facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Australian company, which develops materials for lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, will invest $160 million into the 400,000 square-foot facility that was formerly used by Alstom, according to a report from WRCB 3.
NOVONIX has been in Chattanooga for four years with around 20 employees; the renovation and expansion will bring 290 new jobs to the city. An official timeline of when renovations will be completed and when NOVONIX staff will move in has not yet been announced. Sam Wills, a regional economic and community development director for the state, said the expansion will make Chattanooga a "player in the industry" of EVs.
"It really has been a race from the battery supplier and the automotive industry to get to the production of that E vehicle," Wills said.
