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| FROM SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE, MAY 2023 ISSUE |
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COSTA RICA INVESTMENT REPORT
Costa Rica’s value proposition — like its business and natural ecosystems — just keeps growing richer and more diverse.
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ARIZONA
Taiwanese manufacturers have found a penchant for investing in the Grand Canyon State.
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France
ProLogium, an energy innovation company specializing in R&D and manufacturing of next-generation solid-state battery solutions for EVs, earlier this month chose Dunkirk, France, as the location for its first large-scale solid-state battery manufacturing facility outside of Taiwan, a 3,000-job win for northern France. The announcement was welcomed in Dunkirk by French President Emmanuel Macron. “Specifically, ProLogium’s objective is threefold: to put down roots in Europe, to mass-produce next-generation batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), and to support the energy transition of the EU automotive industry, as ICE car sale will be banned by 2035,” the company said. “ProLogium will invest a total of €5.2 billion to set up a 48 GWh gigafactory and an R&D center, strategically located in Europe. The localization of advanced battery manufacturing will also be a significant milestone in French government’s green reindustrialization strategy.” The company said Dunkirk was selected from a long list of over 90 cities in Europe following a rigorous review process for its well-established infrastructure and superb geographic assets. “This region will allow ProLogium to benefit from a supply of stable and low-carbon electricity at a competitive price, thanks to various sources of decarbonized electricity that are or will soon be present in Dunkirk, first and foremost the EDF power plant in Gravelines, but also the future offshore wind farm and a photovoltaic plant,” ProLogium said. “This project will be located in the port of Dunkirk, close to Northern European automotive manufacturing plants and the international shipping network. These features make Dunkirk an ideal location to realize ProLogium’s vision of implementing local supply and local manufacturing for European OEM customers.”
Malaysia
On the very same day as the announcement above, EVE Energy Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (EVE) and Pemaju Kelang Lama Sdn. Bhd. signed an MOU marking a milestone in establishing a $422.3 million, 600-job manufacturing facility in Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia. “This facility will be EVE’s 53rd factory and will spearhead the development of an International Cylindrical Battery Industrial Park in Malaysia,” stated a release from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), which is supporting the project and the overall sustainable mobility sector alongside the country’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), the Kedah State Executive Council and Invest Kedah Berhad. “The factory will primarily focus on the production of cylindrical lithium-ion batteries for power tools and electric two-wheelers.” Managing Director of Bosch Malaysia Klaus Landhaeusser noted, “EVE has been Bosch’s focus supplier for lithium-ion cells since 2018. Their expansion plan into Malaysia fits well with our local-for-local strategy.” MIDA said it approved 54 projects totaling RM22 billion (nearly US$ 4.8 billion) in the EV sector and its related ecosystems from 2018 to 2022.
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| MASSACHUSETTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 2023-24 |
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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
As jobs rapidly hit Massachusetts, employers can access workforce services with ease.
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TOURISM
Winter, spring, summer and fall, Massachusetts has it all.
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| SITE SELECTION RECOMMENDS |
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NAIOP President and CEO Marc Selvitelli
File photo courtesy of NAIOP
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SCOTUS on WOTUS has attracted great notice. Reactions to last week’s unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA — which involved the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act and the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) — were swift and numerous. “In a victory for NAIOP members and the CRE industry, the Court ruled that the Clean Water Act extends only to wetlands that are as a practical matter indistinguishable from waters of the United States’ and that have a continuous surface connection with that water,” said a statement from NAIOP President and CEO Marc Selvitelli. “For many years, NAIOP has advocated for commonsense regulation to protect our nation’s wetlands that is clear, increases predictability and consistency in EPA and Army Corps of Engineers wetlands decision making, and reduces unnecessary permitting delays … Supreme Court decision finally clarifies the legal test needed to determine whether a federal wetlands permit is required for a development project. This will go a long way to reducing the uncertainty and added costs of delay that were the result of the legal ambiguity that existed. The Biden WOTUS rule had been suspended in 26 states because of legal challenges. Today’s Supreme Court ruling will most likely force changes to the Biden administration’s regulation to ensure its application is consistent with the decision.”
Associated General Contractors of America CEO Stephen E. Sandherr said, “This decision will return consistency and sanity to the permitting process. The decision will allow vital infrastructure and development projects to proceed in a timely manner while still providing strong protections for the actual waters of the U.S.” He also noted, “The decision also makes clear that the Biden administration must rewrite its current Waters of the U.S. rule, which relies on the flawed ‘significant nexus’ test that the Court roundly dismissed today. Attempting to redefine nearly every wet area in the U.S. as a federal water is clearly not legal.”
“Moving forward, we will continue to challenge the Biden administration’s rule in court and welcome future opportunities to work with the administration to help craft a rule that continues to protect the waters of the U.S. without erecting unnecessary and unlawful barriers to economic activity.”
The National Apartment Association (NAA) and National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) also approved: “Today’s decision provides long-awaited certainty for property owners and housing providers and properly curbs federal overreach of what defines Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS),” a statement read. “The apartment industry strongly supports protecting our water resources, but undue and confusing regulations would exacerbate our nationwide housing affordability crisis. After years of litigation, the Court unanimously agreed that federal authority was lacking in this case and this ruling limits the universe of properties subject to costly and time-consuming federal permits to develop or redevelop housing.”
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In this archive photo from the National Park Service, an honor guard stands at attention on Memorial Day at War in the Pacific National Historical Park. A protected area in the United States territory of Guam, the park which was established in 1978 in honor of those who participated in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
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