< Previous68 ILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE key resource promoting STEM education for educators and students of all ages throughout Illinois communities, providing various camps, career fairs, hands- on lab experience and in-depth programs throughout the year. The addition of the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub to the region brings a fresh layer of R&D opportunity to the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign and over 30 research partners. iFAB leverages Illinois’ top cash crops, corn and soybeans, to pursue new biomanufacturing applications in the development of fuel alternatives, advanced food proteins, new textiles and fibers, commercial grade oils, pigments and cosmetics. In June, National Foodworks announced the Decatur-based company would be joining the iFAB consortium as its 34th member. The contract food manufacturer works with established and startup food companies to formulate, test and scale new products, which will be a valuable resource for early production runs testing out newly discovered fermented ingredients. Home to more than 400 agtech companies and over 2,000 food manufacturers, this level of innovative activity and collaboration is far from concentrated in Illinois. The state’s magnetic pull for companies looking to drive innovation forward has resulted in over 900,000 jobs directly related to food and agriculture, according to the Illinois Agri-Food Alliance. As companies look to shake up North American markets with exciting new products, all strategic roads lead to Illinois. It’s what led Ferrero to invest $75 million to begin expanding its Franklin Park operations to exclusively manufacture Nutella Peanut, the company’s first new Nutella flavor to ever be released. In Huntley, Germany-based Silesia broke ground in June to establish a new $40 million manufacturing and R&D center to explore product innovation and grow its presence in the American market. It’s hard to pass up the state’s robust supply chains, infrastructure, talent and research capabilities — and companies aren’t doing so. In the past year, Illinois has drawn in over 100 new food and beverage projects around the state as companies look to expand or cultivate new roots. Where Successful Outcomes Take Shape ILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE 69 INCUBATORS & ACCELERATORS n Chicagoland and Champaign — and in Peoria, Rockford, Carbondale and Springfi eld — Illinois’ innovation ecosystem is hiding in plain sight. Drive through or by the campuses of Bradley University in Peoria, Northern Illinois University in Rockford, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale or the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology in the Windy City, and you are steps from one or more of Illinois’ many business incubators and accelerators. According to Chicago’s Economic Landscape, a May report from World Business Chicago and the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership, the Chicago area is home to nearly incubators and innovation centers that nurture startups in IT, manufacturing, life sciences, logistics and other industries. Workspace — lab or otherwise — is an immediate need they can fi ll. But access to networking, mentorship and early-stage funding is in abundant supply too. More than , startups in the Chicago area have secured $ . billion in pre-venture-capital funding since , according to the report, and more than of those advanced to later funding or other successful outcomes. Incubator Enhancement Grants Illinois is investing in incubators to ensure future successful outcomes. In mid-July, $ million in Tech Incubator Enhancement Grant (TIEG) funds were awarded to four recipients. e grants, administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), support entrepreneurship and innovation in key growth industries and strengthen the resilience of both existing and new startup incubators, according to a release from Governor JB Pritzker’s offi ce. “Our technology incubators and start-up ecosystem are positioning our state as a powerhouse in the economy of tomorrow, and I am proud to be strengthening our investment in that future,” said the governor. by MARK AREND I The Chicago mHUB startup community has raised over $2.2 billion in capital and launched 1,702 new products statewide. Photo courtesy of mHUB70 ILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE The TIEG recipients are (1) the 518 Collective at Carl Sandburg College ($1.8 million), Galesburg, a proposed ag-tech-focused incubator; (2) the DeepTech Innovation Lab at mHUB Chicago ($590,200), specializing in HardTech, or digital and hardware integration; (3) EnterpriseWorks 2.0 at University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign ($3 million), a new facility at the Research Park in Champaign-Urbana for startup companies with an emphasis on laboratory and manufacturing commercial spaces for scaling companies; and (4) SouthernTECH High-Tech Food Incubator ($1.6 million) at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, for a new food processing and manufacturing-based incubator that will provide a lineup of high- tech, energy-efficient and future- proof kitchen equipment. “Strategic incentivized investments in key sectors will provide critical support to both new and existing technology incubators throughout the state,” noted DCEO Director Kristin Richards. Statewide Incubator Network Galesburg, Chicago, Champaign- Urbana and Carbondale. The TIEG recipients’ geographic diversity across Illinois is Exhibit A showing the state’s startup and innovation ecosystem is not confined to the Chicago metro. Exhibit B is the Illinois University Incubator Network (IUIN) that links university incubators around the state to technical assistance resources and a wide range of business startup services. IUIN partners with the University of Illinois EDA University Center and the Illinois FAST (Federal and State Technology) Partnership Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The latter supports technology-based entrepreneurs (TBE) and startups seeking SBIR/ STTR funding for small business innovation research. IUIN members include: • EnterpriseWorks at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign • The Peoria NEXT Innovation Center at Bradley University in Peoria • The University Technology Park (UTP) on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus in Chicago • EIGERlab at Northern Illinois University in Rockford • The Technology Innovation Lab of the University of Illinois at Chicago, in the Illinois Medical District • The Garage at Northwestern University in Evanston • The Incubator at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale • The University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation The Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is a bioprocessing product research and development facility that bridges the gap from basic discovery to commercialization. Marissa Nyland is assistant director of operations and safety at IBRL. Photo by Fred Zwicky of University of Illinois Public Affairs ILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE 71 • Innovate Springfield at the University of Illinois at Springfield • The Helix 51 Incubator at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago • The Business Innovation and Growth (BIG) Center at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago • Ignite Lab at Loyola University Chicago Not all business incubators in Illinois are located at or administered by universities. Distillery Labs, in Peoria, opened in 2024 as the region’s base for entrepreneurship programs and startups with 40,000 sq. ft. of space. It’s where startup accelerator gener8tor, in partnership with OSF HealthCare, Peoria County, Hanson Professional Services, Central Illinois Angels and Attollo, will house its annual seven-week gBETA pre-accelerator programs for local entrepreneurs. “This next-level support will cultivate entrepreneurs and startups from a number of sources, including those that may result from concepts and inventions from local companies, like OSF, and provide them with additional expertise and access to capital to take their solution to a commercial product or service,” said Kip McCoy, vice president for innovation integration at Peoria-based OSF HealthCare, announcing the company’s sponsorship of the gBETA program. “Traditional economic development usually focuses on business attraction and helping existing, and usually larger, local companies grow,” says Christopher Setti, CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. “But supporting startups — and particularly scalable and innovative startups — should be considered the critical third leg of the stool. Creating a vibrant startup ecosystem can yield significant economic results, and today’s small idea can turn into tomorrow’s major win.” Since launching in 2015, according to OSF Healthcare, gBETA program alumni have raised more than $188 million in capital and created more than 2,000 jobs across the U.S. and Canada. The program helps startups gain early customer traction for their product or idea and establish and execute on metrics that make them competitive applicants for full- time, equity-based accelerators or seed investment. Portals to Growth Portal Innovations helps startup biotech enterprises meet their early workspace needs with wet/dry lab and office facilities in several cities, including Chicago. It has 50,000 sq. ft. on the Fulton Labs campus in the city’s booming Fulton Market neighborhood. It’s where Northwestern University spinoff Grove Biopharma got its start. The company is developing its Bionic Biologics drug development platform. In April, it announced the close of a $30 million Series A financing, which will enable the company to expand its footprint in the Portal space. Portal Innovations and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago are developing a 22,000-sq.-ft. science startup incubator at the Hyde Park Labs development called the UChicago Science Incubator. Portal will manage the design, buildout and support programming in collaboration with the Polsky Center, according to the University of Chicago. “The partnership between the University of Chicago and Portal Innovations underscores the significance of collaboration between academia and industry,” said Juan de Pablo, executive vice president for science, innovation, national laboratories and global initiatives at UChicago, in a statement. “By working together, we are better equipped to support our researchers and scientists in advancing their scientific research and innovation toward impact through commercialization.” “We are thrilled to partner with the University of Chicago, a storied institution that has fueled scientific breakthroughs in biotech, energy, quantum, and beyond,” added John Flavin, founder and CEO of Portal Innovations. “With science moving quickly, it’s necessary to connect academic researchers with private industry including entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and corporate partners to commercialize innovation while attracting and retaining talent locally.” The University of Chicago also is partnering with CIC, a global developer of innovation workspace, on a state-of-the-art lab incubator at Hyde Park. CIC Labs at Hyde Park Labs will include a facility spanning 20,000 sq. ft. of wet lab and office space, operating within UChicago’s leased space in Hyde Park Labs. The University of Chicago says the CIC space will focus on startup companies of UChicago faculty members, helping to extend the impact of their research, discoveries and intellectual property. 72 ILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE here’s a variety of ways to make it in Illinois — and the state’s extensive roster of over 13,000 manufacturers take that notion seriously. These operations support more than 588,000 jobs across the state, a resilient manufacturing workforce base that ranks fifth nationally and third in the Midwest. In securing the No. 2 state for new and expanding companies for the third year in a row, Illinois knows how to reinforce its production powerhouse status. When New-Jersey based Raptor Power Systems Founder Evan El Koury was looking to expand the company’s manufacturing footprint outside of the state for the first time, he found everything his businesses needed to scale in Champaign County. Raptor currently runs two manufacturing facilities in New Jersey, producing mission-critical power distribution units (PDUs) and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) used for military, industrial, data center and crypto mining applications. El Koury learned the ropes from his father Peter, who started Powerspec Inc. in the early 1990s as a UPS systems contract manufacturer for the military. About 14 years ago, El Koury saw the opportunity to diversify the small company’s product portfolio, shifting focus to data centers and establishing Raptor Power Systems as a subsidiary of Powerspec. The flexibility of operating as a small business allowed El Koury’s team to develop a product that solved supply chain issues faced by larger original equipment manufacturers like Siemens, ABB and Schneider. The company later landed large contracts that launched Raptor’s product into the existing U.S. supply chain, marking the shift from operations within a small-scale garage shop to soon welcoming its largest manufacturing location to date. During an extensive site selection search, the East Central Illinois region stood out for its low cost of living, access to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign talent and programming, transportation infrastructure, a large regional manufacturing workforce and community support. “It was one of the best mixes,” El Koury says. “When we were hunting ADVANCED MANUFACTURING by ALEXIS ELMORE T Why Illinois Manufacturers Remain in Stock Wieland’s East Alton site has been in operation for over 100 years. Photo courtesy of Wieland GroupILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE 73 spaces a lot of the times I found that where you might find a little cheaper land or might find cheaper labor, what you’re not finding is a good mix of professional and blue collar in the same community with a low cost of living.” Between two sites in the region, Raptor purchased a 65,000-sq.- ft. building from real estate developer Atkins Group on a site that would allow for an expansion up to 300,000 additional sq. ft. “We’re starting a little bit smaller,” says El Koury. “In a short order, I can add this extra space as required and turn this area into a campus that we can call our forever home.” Skilled talent was a critical factor, as Raptor’s manufacturing process has yet to turn fully automated. The company instead trains its employees to be artisans in assembling remote power panels (RPP) and floor power PDUs. RPPs between 400 to 600 amps typically take about four hours to assemble, while PDUs between 500 and 1,000 kVA take up to 30 hours per unit to build. Currently, the company’s New Jersey facilities produce about 400 RPPs and 100 PDUs a month. Once operational, the north Champaign plant will contribute an additional 1,100 RPPs and 600 PDUs per month. To ensure a pipeline of skilled local talent, Raptor is working to finalize plans with local economic developers to develop a community college program to train and certify workers to construct these power systems. In the prime era of data center development, with industry leaders such as Microsoft, Meta and Oracle planning projects up to a decade out, Raptor is positioning itself to meet new opportunities to adapt to evolving industry needs. As the new facility gears up to meet its first “ It was one of the best mixes. When we were hunting spaces a lot of the times I found that where you might find a little cheaper land or might find cheaper labor, what you’re not finding is a good mix of professional and blue collar in the same community with a low cost of living. ” — Evan El Koury, Founder, Raptor Power Systems74 ILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE contractual obligation in August, El Koury says activity is bustling at the facility as materials and 75 new employees file in. “To see it really coming together has been special for me,” El Koury says. “Especially starting in a 10- by-10 office here to now having this entire factory and being president of the entire company has been a heck of a journey.” Resources Designed to Scale Approval of the state’s $55.1 billion FY26 budget from the Illinois General Assembly in June provided space to introduce a new manufacturing tax credit program, while leaving room to make improvements to key tax initiatives including the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) program and the Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit. The fresh Advancing Innovating Manufacturing for Illinois (AIM Illinois) tax credit is designed for manufacturers delivering significant capital investment in the state. It takes a keen focus to small and medium-sized companies looking to make large investments toward equipment or facility needs. The three-tiered AIM credit covers a maximum of 3% of capital expenditures for investments between $10 million to $50 million made in Illinois, increasing to coverage of up to 7% on investments of $100 million or more. It’s a move that leadership hopes will help land and retain growing businesses. Combined with programs such as REV Illinois and EDGE, manufacturers spanning any number of industries can find an incentive program that fits their business needs. Industry feedback led the state to increase incentives provided to companies investing over $100 million on a project, while REV Illinois extends its program eligibility to now cover additional EV supply chain industries. The introduction of AIM Illinois builds upon the new project investment successes bolstered by the REV Illinois and EDGE programs. This traction continues to fuel expansions seen statewide, although evolving alongside the needs of its small to mid-size manufacturers was a chief growth opportunity pinpointed by Illinois leadership. Why It Works REV Illinois was a sweet incentive package addition Wieland Rolled Products North America wasn’t looking to pass up when it announced plans to invest $500 million in the modernization of its East Alton site. In March 2025, Wieland broke ground on the project designed to help increase production capacity of components required for EV, EV charging infrastructure and renewable energy production. The East Alton facility will be fitted with a preheat furnace, hot mill, milling line, cold mill and intralogistics systems. This investment further demonstrates the company’s long- term commitment of operation in Illinois, which includes their five other facilities in Carol Stream, Granite City, Montgomery, Tinley Park and Wheeling. The company is eligible for up to $150 million in REV Illinois and other state incentives over the next 30 years. “This investment marks a significant advancement in our manufacturing capabilities in Illinois and across the United States by enhancing our efficiency, precision, and potential output capacity. It also ensures that we remain adaptable in a constantly evolving market,” says Wieland Rolling & Recycling President Greg Keown. “We are well- positioned to increase and improve our production of essential copper and copper alloy components, which are vital for establishing a robust supply chain across various industries and end markets.” Keown say the East Alton facility, which has been in operation for over 100 years, embodies the hard work, dedication and passion required to meet North American market needs. The tremendous investment support Wieland received from Illinois state leadership and local institutions in the form of incentives was a reminder of why the company chose to avoid new site exploration and reinvest in the community. “These upgrades will transform the plant into a world-class production facility equipped “ This investment marks a significant advancement in our manufacturing capabilities in Illinois and across the United States by enhancing our efficiency, precision, and potential output capacity. It also ensures that we remain adaptable in a constantly evolving market. We are well-positioned to increase and improve our production of essential copper and copper alloy components, which are vital for establishing a robust supply chain across various industries and end markets. ” — Greg Keown, President, Wieland Rolling & RecyclingILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE 75 with modern technology, a high level of automation and lean processes,” he notes. “This will ensure superior product quality and provide best-in-class service to our Wieland customers.” In Chicago, Freedman Seating Company chose to take advantage of EDGE when pursuing new facility equipment upgrades and site improvements. The $4 million project follows the recent expansion of the 71-year-old facility, which now spans 650,000 sq. ft. in the city’s Austin neighborhood. New equipment will enhance operational efficiency and grow the company’s manufacturing capabilities, as the plant currently produces 2,000 seats per day across bus, rail, maritime and truck markets. The investment will create an additional 50 jobs in the region once complete. “Programs like EDGE don’t give businesses a handout — they help level the playing field. They allow companies like ours to invest, grow and compete while creating more opportunities where they are needed most,” said Freedman Seating Company CEO Craig Freedman. “Without real, tangible support, businesses will leave. When that happens, communities suffer. We continue to invest in our facilities and our people because we believe in the West Side, we believe in Chicago, and we believe in Illinois.” Raptor Power Systems is opening its largest manufacturing site in Champaign. Photo courtesy of Raptor Power SystemsDouble Black Diamond Solar in central Illinois, the largest operating solar facility east of the Mississippi, is projected to produce power equivalent to the annual needs of 100,000 homes. Photo courtesy of Swift Current Energy llinois Governor Pritzker JB Pritzker has committed to a state goal of million electric vehicles on the road by and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by . e groundwork is in place to make both of those goals reality. Since it went into eff ect on January , , the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) has backed two dozen incentive agreements across the state, from multiple investments by Rivian and its suppliers in Normal to Gotion’s battery plant in Manteno and bus companies and Damera in Channahon and Peoria County, respectively. All told, those deals anticipate , new jobs created and , jobs retained, including jobs at fi ve locations in the state operated by Wieland North America and its affi liates, and jobs maintained by Smalley Steel Ring Co. and e Greenhill Co. in Lake Zurich. EV Update April saw the grand opening of TCCI Manufacturing’s $ million Clean Energy Innovation Hub in Decatur. e project was fi rst in line among the REV Illinois agreements. In addition to a new compressor line, the multifaceted project includes two partnerships with Richland Community College (see Workforce elsewhere in this publication). “ e Clean Energy Innovation Hub represents the kind of bold, future-focused investment that will defi ne the next era of American manufacturing,” said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “By onshoring critical EV component production and launching a dedicated workforce academy, TCCI and its partners are not only reinforcing Illinois’ leadership in clean energy — they’re setting a national standard for how industry, education and government can come together to drive innovation, sustainability and economic growth.” Perhaps no project in the Illinois EV and battery ecosystem has received more attention in the past year than the $ billion, , - job battery factory coming to tiny Manteno Village in Kankakee County from manufacturer Gotion, which is renovating an abandoned Kmart warehouse. “Once the plant is open and operating, Gotion will be paying real estate taxes up to $ million a year for the next years — which is double what the empty property contributes now,” says a county summary of the project. e Manteno facility, another project in the REV Illinois portfolio, is moving forward on pace, say Kankakee County Economic Development President and CEO Tim Nugent and Business Development Vice President Angela Morrey. Gotion as of July had posted 76 ILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE CLEAN ENERGY by ADAM BRUNS I All Systems GoILLINOIS INVESTMENT GUIDE 77 42 jobs in Manteno, including a module & pack line controls engineer position with a pay range of $80,000 to $150,000 requiring at least an undergraduate engineering degree and two years in a manufacturing environment. Nugent says the payroll is at around 300, with more jobs arriving all the time. “They are always doing job fairs, and hiring strategically,” he says. “This is a different manufacturing facility than what a lot of us would perceive,” says Nugent, noting the cleanliness and prevalence of the color white in the 1.5-million-sq.-ft. facility. “Walk in there now and it reminds me of a lab.” The Kmart facility had more than 100 garage door bays. Many of those have been converted to windows to welcome more natural light inside. Before full-scale EV battery production comes online, the factory’s first manufacturing line will likely make battery storage systems, the semi-trailer- sized facilities used for storing power at solar and wind farms and at data centers. Illinois has plenty of those to serve. “Gotion has been meeting with data center people to supply some of these ESS systems to get them up and going until the utility can provide more power to them,” Nugent says. “It wasn’t top of mind before. The power companies are so stretched. Once the utility does get the power to them in a few years, they can use these systems as backups or sell them ... Some of the data centers have been able to increase their speed to market because they can get some supplemental power they didn’t have before.” State funds have contributed to the setup of training programs for Gotion with Kankakee Community College. Morrey says the college “has been really instrumental with Gotion” as part of the institution’s overall focus on skills for renewable energy and assembly. Gotion also is working with Olivet Nazarene University as well as such schools as Bradley University, University of Chicago and Governors State University in state, in addition to nearby heavy hitters Notre Dame and Purdue. “Everybody in the region is very familiar with the Gotion factory and wants to get involved,” says Nugent. “Once the facility is up and going, they potentially will have classes in the facility. Manufacturing will be so far advanced from what manufacturing has been.” SAF: The Next Frontier Projects on the drawing board from the liquid fuel sector could drive an entirely different clean energy industry and supply base: sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the farms that supply its raw material. While there currently are no operating SAF facilities in the state, three have received REV Illinois agreements to help them reach production: (Avina, Crysalis, and Monarch Energy) “Our facility will take advantage of existing rail and pipeline infrastructure for efficient delivery of ASTM-certified fuel to Chicago O’Hare and other major airports around the Midwest region,” said Avina Clean Hydrogen Founder and CEO Vishal Shah when the project was announced in December 2024. “If the proposed SAF projects come to fruition, they may provide a significant new market opportunity for Illinois corn and soybeans used as feedstock,” says Illinois Farm Bureau Assistant Director of Energy Noelle Neef. Illinois in the meantime has already prepared the soil. The state Illinois was the first in the nation to implement a SAF tax incentive, providing a $1.50/gallon tax credit for SAF sold to or used by an air carrier. When the Federal Aviation Administration announced nearly $300 million for SAF projects across the country. Illinois-based projects at the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign, Marquis Energy and Buckeye Terminals were selected, as was Chicago- based LanzaJet’s SAF plant in Georgia. At the state’s inaugural two-day SAF Conference in 2024, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said, “As a leader in biomanufacturing and aviation, Illinois is well-suited to lead the charge on sustainable aviation fuel adoption and manufacturing. The shift to SAF will no doubt play an important role in Illinois’ long-term climate goals, all while promoting innovation and creating jobs for our state.” Gotion will build a $2 billion plant in Manteno, Illinois. Photo by Joe Hendrickson: Getty ImagesNext >