Georgia

Rivian broke ground on its long-planned Georgia factory today, with the goal of getting cars off the line in 2028. The company plans to build its highly anticipated R2 and R3 vehicles there, though it will start initial production of the R2 in its existing Illinois plant in the interim.

Fast charging speeds things up, but usually at the cost of battery life. So when a team at Georgia Tech discovered that cranking up the charge rate actually made zinc-ion batteries stronger, it turned battery science on its head.

Georgia BRIGHT, a statewide initiative to deliver affordable solar, kicked off its “No-Cost Solar Plan” in Atlanta yesterday, giving qualified homeowners a shot at roughly 400 fully prepaid rooftop-solar systems with zero upfront or maintenance costs. However, Georgia Bright’s No-Cost Solar Plan may lose its $156 million in grant money if the EPA steals back the Solar for All program’s entire $7 billion, which funded it.

Flooring manufacturer Beauflor USA just turned on the biggest rooftop solar system by capacity in metro Atlanta — and it’s now powering part of its Georgia factory.

American automaker Rivian has shared its second release outlining expanded offices this week. Earlier today, Rivian shared plans for a new East Coast Headquarters coming to Atlanta, Georgia. The headquarters will operate near its massive new EV production facility being erected outside the city.

Waffle House is about to become a go-to DC fast charging spot for EV drivers, thanks to a new partnership with bp pulse.

Veteran robotaxi developer Zoox has announced an expansion of its testing fleet to a seventh US market. This latest addition marks Zoox’s (potential) entry into the southeastern United States as its team begins to map out the area ahead of bona fide autonomous robotaxi rides.

FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) has scrapped plans to build a $2.6 billion battery energy storage system factory in Coweta County, Georgia – here’s why. 

Archer Aviation announced it has completed construction of a new 400,000 square-foot eVTOL manufacturing facility in Georgia and is already implementing tooling to begin building its proprietary Midnight aircraft in early 2025. Longtime partner Stellantis assisted in the development of the new facility, and Archer will look to the global OEM to help it scale eVTOL production in the US through the end of the decade.

SOLARCYCLE is building a huge solar recycling plant in Cedartown, Georgia, which will recycle 10 million solar panels a year.

Georgia utility Southern Company is teaming up with Georgia Tech and Smart Wires to roll out a US Department of Energy (DOE)-backed project aimed at boosting Georgia and Alabama’s electric grid.

The Biden-Harris administration announced today that the number of publicly available EV chargers has doubled since Biden took office.

Thomas Built Buses, founded in 1916, has delivered its 1,000th electric school bus to a school system in Georgia.

Solar panels made in the US’s largest silicon-based solar panel factory will now be recycled, thanks to a new partnership.

Suniva, once the US’s oldest and largest solar cell maker, has been dormant for six years, but now it’s going to reopen its Georgia factory.

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) are going to inject an additional $2 billion into their $4.3 billion US EV battery factory.

Graphite is in virtually all EV batteries, and Chicago-based Anovion Technologies is opening the largest graphite production facility in North America.

Seoul-headquartered PV solar-cell manufacturing giant Qcells today announced that it’s opening a new solar panel manufacturing facility in Dalton, Georgia.

A Republican-backed bill introduced in Georgia’s House of Representatives would reinstate a $2,500 state tax credit for the purchase or lease of new electric, zero emission, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

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Tesla updated the Supercharger map again this morning and it now appears that all of the major gaps on the east coast (Savannah,Georgia) and the biggest cross country (Macedonia, OH, Wyoming) have been filled and it is now theoretically possible to drive a Tesla from Vancouver BC to San Diego California to Boston Massachusetts down to Miami Florida. Theoretically…if you are very easy on the accelerator.

Tesla hasn’t officially announced the milestone yet because that 302 mile Wyoming-Colorado jump is probably too big to drive without some range extending mode happening. The imminent Cheyenne, WY station should cut this to 164 miles. Also the altitude climb here is significant.

The Newark, Delaware to Somerset PA is 224 miles and  Somerset PA to Macedonia Ohio length is 171 miles so driving to Wyoming from Boston is now pretty doable with a 85kWh Model S.

Tesla’s Q4 financial results, where they are also expected to announce the battery giga-factory would be a good time to mention the transcontinental super(charger)highway. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is going to ride across the country with his 5 kids in March so there’s still lots of time to fill those gaps.

Maps of the 3 biggest cross country and two biggest East Coast gaps, below (or if you want to map out future stations which close these gaps, check out the TeslaWiki):
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