- KORE Power is now ready to build the first lithium-ion battery factory wholly owned by a US company.
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KORE Power’s new lithium-ion battery factory
April 7 update: KORE Power has now closed on a 214-acre site in Maricopa County, Arizona, that will host a battery cell gigafactory for both electric vehicle and energy storage system markets.
The expected date for the factory to become operational has been delayed from the second quarter of 2023 to 2024, but that’s because KORE is going to double the size of the 12 GWh annual production manufacturing facility from 1 million square feet to 2 million square feet.
CEO Lindsay Gorrill told Energy-Storage.news:
What’s critical is that all of the market, all the big guys, are focused on EVs, which is huge [as an opportunity], but if you don’t build enough of the stuff that supports the grid, the EV side will never work because they can’t produce a million EVs and not change the grid. We made a conscious effort to be in both markets [EV and energy storage system].
As KORE is also going to ramp up production at its existing factory in China from 2GWh to 6GWh, it will have 18 GWh of total production capacity by the end of 2024.
Besides Tesla, KORE Power is a rare example of a US battery maker ready to build gigawatt-scale manufacturing.
July 30, 2021: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based battery cell technology developer KORE Power announced yesterday that it will build the first lithium-ion battery factory wholly owned by a US company, in Maricopa County, Arizona. It will create a vital new US battery supply for electric vehicles and battery storage.
The 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility will be called the KOREPlex (rendering above). It will support up to 12 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery cell production.
KOREPlex will add to the company’s current annual production capacity of 2 GWh that’s in the process of scaling up to 6 GWh.
KORE Power plans to start construction of KOREPlex by the end of 2021 and intends to start production in the second quarter of 2023.
The new Arizona factory will create more than 3,000 full-time jobs and around 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. The company said it chose Maricopa County because it “offered proximity to complementary industries such as e-mobility, solar, semiconductor, and utilities, workforce and logistics capacity, and a pro-business tax and regulatory environment.”
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) said:
I join all Arizonans in welcoming to our state KORE Power and its new manufacturing site that will create thousands of new jobs. Arizona is positioned to lead the nation on increasing America’s competitiveness in battery technology, and I will continue supporting this vital industry.
Bronx community solar
White Plains, New York-based grocery distributor Krasdale Foods is going to host a 2.7-megawatt community solar project on its 325,000-square-foot Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in the Bronx.
San Diego-based clean energy infrastructure provider PowerFlex will install more than 6,500 panels. The project will generate clean energy equivalent to offsetting 5.3 million pounds of emissions or removing 524 gas cars from the road annually.
The project is expected to be completed in 2022, and Krasdale will be able to extend its current lease through 2041 as part of an agreement with the New York City Economic Development Corp.
Around 300 residents are expected to qualify for the no-cost community solar project, which will cut their electric bills by 10%.
Electrek’s Take: We love it when large warehouses and buildings host solar on their huge roofs – why not utilize all that unused space? Krasdale has operated out of this warehouse since the early 1970s, and it’s giving back to its Bronx community by cutting their power bills and helping to reduce emissions by increasing the use of renewables. Everyone wins.
Read more: Why isn’t US commercial solar’s massive potential being tapped?
Photo: KORE Power
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