Investor Watch: December 22, 2025

Korea Zinc is investing $6.6 billion in two locations in the Volunteer State. Kroger grows its Kentucky logistics network. Chemical manufacturer INEOS will go forth with expansion at a site overlooking the Firth of Forth.

BUSINESS RETENTION

Why four organizations earned Business Retention & Expansion International’s 2025 Awards of Excellence.

WYOMING

Weeks before a federal shutdown swept the nation, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a strategic move toward accelerating what Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum termed the nation’s “Energy Dominance,” economic growth and national security — locking sights on a 48-year-old Wyoming coal mine.

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ESI research published in Site Selection noted that forward-looking transportation infrastructure and connectivity are hallmarks of Cities 4.0.
Photo courtesy of ESI ThoughtLab

Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) this week announced that Founding Principal and Board Chairman Richard Voith, Ph.D., will conclude his tenure as a principal and owner of the firm at the end of 2025. After more than a decade as an Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Voith joined Econsult Corporation in 2001 and led the development and growth of the firm’s consulting practice, co-founding of ESI in 2013 and serving as co-president through 2020.

In addition to rigorous research on transit in Greater Philadelphia, “he has worked extensively with academic and professional colleagues examining the impacts of Low Income Housing Tax Credit financed development on communities,” the firm said. “This research, which shows that affordable housing developments increase the property values in nearby communities, was cited in the 2024 Economic Report of the President. Another recent project, done in collaboration with the Volcker Alliance and the Penn Institute for Urban Research, focused on the longer term impact of remote work on different kinds of cities. This project demonstrates that work from home can have a positive impact on cities that are focused on innovation, as long as they retain a high quality of life and have high quality transit systems that support density.”

Site Selection published an adaptation of work by the Econsult team on smart cities in July 2021, which noted the importance of transportation infrastructure. Among the 20 cities identified in the study as “Cities 4.0” were Copenhagen, Denmark; Tallinn, Estonia; Los Angeles, California; Berlin, Germany; and ESI’s hometown of Philadelphia.

BUSINESS INCUBATION

Water technology is just one area where accelerators in the Great Lakes region put startups on the fast track.

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Photo courtesy of Microporous

If it seems like energy storage is popping up more often as a power alternative, you’re not wrong. The U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report released last week by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and Wood Mackenzie found that the 5.3 gigawatts (GW) installed in Q3 2025 (4.6 GW at utility scale) pushed the year-to-date total past the entire year’s installations in 2024.

“The residential storage market continued to expand for the sixth consecutive quarter, installing 647 megawatts (MW) in Q3, a 70% year-over-year increase,” ACP stated in a release. “California, Arizona, and Illinois led deployments as attachment rates reached new highs. Wood Mackenzie projects Q4 2025 will set a record for the residential sector as customers accelerate installations ahead of the federal Section 25D investment tax credit expiration as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The Community, Commercial and Industrial (CCI) segment installed 33 MW in Q3, down 8% year-over-year. “California captured 54% of installations with 17.8 MW, while Illinois emerged as a key growth market alongside Massachusetts, driven by state rebate programs and community storage projects.”

“We’re seeing states step up with innovative programs, grids increasingly reliant on storage for reliability and costs at record lows,” said Allison Weis, global head of storage at Wood Mackenzie. “The industry’s ability to navigate these challenges and maintain a 15% increase in our five-year utility forecast since the passage of the OBBA demonstrates that storage has evolved from an emerging technology to an essential grid resource.”

Battery storage requires batteries of course. Its supply chain also extends to the manufacture of battery separators, which requires substantial plant investment. Site Selection recently has chronicled the location decisions of several battery separator plants: Microporous in Virginia, Asahi Kasei in Port Colborne, Ontario, and Entek in Indiana. Natrion makes them at its plant in Binghamton, New York. Despite concern over whether a U.S. Department of Energy grant would come through, officials say the Microporous project is moving forward at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill, according to a report last month by Cardinal News. Meanwhile, Entek, which received its own federal loan in 2024, in September benefited from an $800 million acquisition of a majority equity interest in the company by Miami-based I Squared Capital that will help propel completion of the country’s first gigafactory for lithium-ion separators. — Adam Bruns

Photo by Ulysse Lemerise / OSA via v2com newswire

From now until early March, residents and visitors in Montreal can enjoy the 16th edition of the annual “free urban winter experience” known as LUMINO, which transforms the city’s downtown and Quartier des Spectacles with art installations, projections and events. Among the works on display is Anemonia by TILT in front of St. James United Church on Sainte-Catherine St. West. LUMINO is initiated and organized by the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership.