Battery Maker A123 Systems To Bring At Least 14,000 Jobs To Michigan

Watertown, MA (AHN) - A Watertown, Massachusetts-based battery designer said late Wednesday it has decided to construct a $2.3 billion lithium ion battery manufacturing plant in southeast Michigan to supply batteries for Detroit automakers.

A123 Systems said the combined plants would occupy as much as 7 million square feet and create over 14,000 jobs at full operation.

"We're entering an exciting new phase for the automotive industry where we increase the electrification of vehicles, reducing consumption of gasoline through advanced batteries," A123Systems President and Chief Executive Officer David Vieau said in a statement.

"This new facility would greatly accelerate this change and help ensure that the American economy replaces its dependence on foreign oil with reliance on advanced, homegrown batteries," he added.

The company is now seeking $1.84 billion in federal loans from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Ventures Manufacturing Incentive Program to fund a part of the construction of the plant.

The company said it will spend a total of $2.3 billion on factories, which will have full production volumes designed to supply battery systems for five million hybrid vehicles or half a million plug-in electric vehicles per year by 2013.

"At GM, we see the development of vehicles powered by electricity as key to the transformation of our industry. And advanced battery technology, is at the heart of this transformation," General Motors Corp.'s Vice Chairman of Global Product Development Bob Lutz said.

Most of the lithium-ion vehicle battery manufacturers are based in Asia, with only Enerdel as an exception that has facilities in the United States to supply batteries to the domestic automakers.

Some of the existing A123 Systems customers include AES, BAE Systems, Black and Decker, Cessna, Chrysler LLC, General Motors, Project Better Place, and Th!nk.