The U.S. Department of Energy says it will give a battery component manufacturer $100 million to build a plant in Virginia, the largest of seven awards announced Monday in a bid to boost the nation’s clean energy production.
A report Tuesday in Virginia Business quoted the CEO of Tennessee-based Microporous LLC saying that the company has its eye on Pittsylvania County’s Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill. But reached by phone Tuesday, John Reeves declined to confirm the report or provide details to Cardinal News about locations that his company, which makes battery separators used in cars and other applications, is considering.
“I can’t really talk to that specifically because we’re still in negotiations as far as what our use agreement is going to be,” Reeves said, referring to the pending federal funding. “We’re still negotiating those final terms.”
But Virginia Business reported that Berry Hill is Microporous’ “top contender” for the new facility and cited Reeves as saying the location appeals to Microporous because of its “world class” rail service, regional workforce training efforts and potential for future expansion.
“It’s just a great fit all the way around,” Reeves said, according to the report.
If the company does choose Berry Hill, it would mark a major milestone for the 3,528-acre industrial site, which has been on the short list — but ultimately passed over — for multiple high-profile business investments over the last several years.
The Virginia Business report followed an announcement Monday by the Department of Energy that MP Assets, a company that wholly owns Microporous LLC, will receive $100 million in federal funding to build a new facility in Virginia.
MP Assets will create 282 permanent jobs and ensure that at least 85% of the full-time employees are from disadvantaged communities, the Energy Department said.
While the federal announcement said the project would be in Virginia, it did not specify a locality.
Reeves declined Tuesday to confirm to Cardinal News that the company is even looking at Virginia, instead referring back to the Department of Energy announcement.
“I’d rather not even say that. … The DOE has said Virginia, so that’s in the public domain,” Reeves said.
The Energy Department said the company will manufacture lithium-ion battery separators used in electric vehicles, helping to secure domestic manufacturing of a market currently dominated by China.
A battery separator provides a barrier between the positive and negative sides of a battery to prevent short circuits.
Reeves said the growing market for electric vehicles is creating large demand for such separators.
“Every EV’s going to have battery separators,” Reeves said. “They need to be made in the U.S. We’ve got to fill that demand.”
The grant, Reeves said Tuesday, would be a matching award, meaning the company would need to spend $200 million and would be reimbursed for $100 million.
Being selected for the grant gives Microporous the opportunity to negotiate contract details with the Energy Department, covering areas such as the project’s environmental impact and how much vendors would be paid, Reeves said.
“It’s a milestone in us getting money, but we still have just tons and tons of work to do,” Reeves said.
That information will help the company negotiate with state governments as it finalizes its site selection. According to the Virginia Business report, Microporous is also looking at North Carolina and Tennessee but is “leaning towards Virginia.”
State and local officials contacted by Cardinal News on Tuesday declined to provide further information.
“For competitive reasons and to protect confidential company information, we cannot comment on current or potential economic development prospects,” Jason El Koubi, president and CEO of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, said in a statement.
“While we have several active prospects for the mega site at various stages in the recruitment process,” said Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, “we do not have anything we can publicly announce at this time.”
Said Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville: “There is no news to report at this time.”
Microporous is located in Piney Flats, in Tennessee’s Sullivan County about 15 miles from Bristol. It traces its history back to 1934, when American Rubber Co. created and patented the first rubber battery separator, according to the Microporous website.
With about 300 employees currently, it makes separators for lead-acid batteries used in cars, telecommunications systems and “motive power” applications such as golf carts, forklifts and floor scrubbers, according to its website.
Lithium-ion batteries such as those used in electric vehicles generally are more efficient and last longer than lead-acid batteries, but are more expensive.
MP Assets will receive the largest federal award among seven announced Monday that altogether total $275 million and will leverage $600 million in private investment to create nearly 1,500 “high-quality, good-paying” jobs, according to the energy department.
“The portfolio of projects will address critical clean energy supply chain vulnerabilities by supporting key materials and components for energy storage for grid and transportation uses, wind energy, and energy efficient solutions for buildings,” the Energy Department said in its news release.
The release also noted that, “In addition to co-location with energy communities, the majority of selected projects will be in or adjacent to disadvantaged communities, supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to ensure every community is included in our clean energy future.”
Other projects include Alpen High-Performance Products Inc. retrofitting facilities in Colorado and Pennsylvania to produce ultra-thin insulated window glass; Boston Metal building a new facility in West Virginia to make alloys for fuel cells and other uses; and Carter Wind Turbines LLC building a facility in Texas to make mid-sized turbines for remote and rugged areas, according to the Energy Department.
Potential investment puts spotlight on Berry Hill again
Located just outside of Danville in Pittsylvania County, the Berry Hill megasite is the largest industrial site in Virginia and one of the largest in the Southeast U.S.
It’s owned by the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority, a joint entity with members of both the city council and the county board of supervisors, and has robust utilities including gas, water, sewer, electric, broadband and proximity to roads and railways.
More than $200 million has been invested in the development of the megasite since 2008, when it was purchased. The land was cobbled together from other properties that the city and county acquired.
Since then, the site has undergone drastic development. Earlier this year, it received a Tier 5 designation from the VEDP, which means that there is enough graded land and infrastructure for the site to be considered shovel-ready.
Not being shovel-ready has cost the megasite some big opportunities.
In May 2022, a $5.5 billion Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant went to a site in Savannah, Georgia, because it was more developed than Berry Hill.
But other factors have stymied developments at the megasite too.
In January, Gov. Glenn Youngkin pulled the site out of consideration for a Ford Motor Co. battery plant facility due to concerns about Chinese government influence and the possibility that federal tax incentives would benefit a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
And in March, chemical manufacturing company Albemarle Corp. chose a site in Chester County, South Carolina, for a lithium plant because it was closer to the company’s main facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While disappointing, these close calls highlight Berry Hill’s competitiveness in the megasite game, said Matt Rowe, economic development director for Pittsylvania County. The site has received a lot of attention from developers in the last few years, he said.
“It’s been a nonstop fire since September 2021,” Rowe said in an interview in August 2022. “Whichever company wants to pull the trigger, let’s go.”