EV Battery Material Plants Planned for South Carolina

Two new factories helping to produce lithium and other metals for electric vehicle batteries will soon be constructed in South Carolina, WFAE reports.

One of the new factories announced will be owned by the Albemarle Corporation, a specialty chemicals manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Albemarle plant plans to employ 300 people to “process lithium from its mines around the world or from recycled batteries.” 

$1.3 billion will be spent to construct a lithium processing facility on 800 acres of land in Chester County, located around 40 minutes away from Charlotte. Construction could begin in 2024, but a specific date was not disclosed.

Fellow Charlotte-based Cirba Solutions, a company that offers battery recycling services, will be opening a new factory as well, in the Pineview Industrial Park in Columbia. 

The $300 million facility also plans to employ 300 individuals that will use lithium and other materials from used EV and hybrid batteries to recycle them into new batteries. According to Cirba Solutions, the new plant will “supply enough recycled battery-grade metal salts every year for 500,000 electric vehicle batteries.”