LOCKED IN ON MONTGOMERY
One year after Meta began data center operations at its new campus in Montgomery, Alabama, the tech giant is heading back into the city to expand the site. Last week, Meta announced a $700 million investment would introduce two new facilities and 100 new direct jobs. This move would bring the campus to a total of 1.3 million sq. ft. once complete. Energy used at the site will be matched with 100% renewable energy, in addition to new renewable energy projects that will bring 227 megawatts to Alabama’s electricity grid. “Montgomery has proven to be a perfect home for our data center, and we are excited to be expanding,” the company said in its announcement. Before the end of the year Meta plans to launch its Data Center Community Action Grants program in the region. This annual program will provide funding for technology-focused projects that enhance the community and boost local STEAM education, building upon the company’s partnerships with the Montgomery Public Schools system and non-profit organizations for skills building initiatives.
Rendering courtesy of Eli Lilly and Company
A FAVORABLE BUSINESS CLIMATE CAPTURES ELI LILLY
In order to boost Eli Lilly and Company’s small molecule drug production pipeline, the manufacturer is heading to Houston, Texas, with a $6.5 billion project investment. This is the second facility to come of the company’s $27 billion commitment to four new U.S. manufacturing sites. The location at Generation Park was said to be chosen based on local incentives, access to utilities, transportation and its overall business environment. Notably, the new Houston plant is among a few sites chosen to manufacture Eli Lilly’s first oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, known as orforglipron, which will be submitted to global regulatory agencies by the end of 2026. “Our new Houston site will enhance Lilly’s ability to manufacture orforglipron at scale and, if approved, help fulfill the medicine’s potential as a metabolic health treatment for tens of millions of people worldwide who prefer the ease of a pill that can be taken without food and water restrictions,” said Eli Lilly Chair and CEO David A. Ricks. “This significant U.S. investment and onshoring of our API production capabilities will ensure faster, more secure access to orforglipron and to other life-changing medicines of the future.” Anticipated to be complete by 2030, the investment will create 615 new jobs in the region.
Photo courtesy of the Port of Barcelona
TERMINAL INVESTMENT DIVES DEEP IN SPAIN
A $165.6 million expansion initiative will soon boost APM Terminals’ annual capacity to 1.23 million twenty-foot equivalent units at the Port of Barcelona in Spain. Over the next three years, the Netherlands-based logistics company will pursue modernization and expansion that will not only scale the Port’s activity but also target its decarbonization goals via a new Offshore Power Supply system that provides docked ships access to power supply through the local grid. The move will cut emissions while improving environmental performance at the port. “[The modernization is] a strategic milestone for APM Terminals and reaffirms our firm commitment to the port development of Barcelona and to the sustainable growth of Spain as a key logistics hub in Europe,” said APM Terminals Spanish Gateways Managing Director Julián Fernández. The expansion phase of the project details reinforcing the South Quay berths; replacing rails for new Ship-to-Shore cranes; updating infrastructure to support up to 15-meter (49-ft.) drafts; and ensuring the terminal can handle two mega-container ships at once.
Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore
