Project Bulletin: March 4, 2024

Novelis announced that it not only scaled up its original investment but increased job creation by 200 additional roles in southern Alabama.

Photo courtesy of City of Bay Minette

Aluminum manufacturer Novelis shared in late February that its $2.5 billion Bay Minette project, which has been under construction since 2022, has actually ended up costing the company $4.1 billion. The facility is still anticipated to become operational within the next two years, producing aluminum for the beverage and automotive sectors. Located in the southwestern Alabama city’s 3,000-acre South Alabama Megasite, the facility will soon create 1,000 new jobs. Following release of this report, the project has become one of the largest capital investments in the state’s history.

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Michigan continues to advance semiconductor and battery production.

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The Department of Energy (DOE) is putting federal funding to work in Michigan with the announcement of two loan investments toward semiconductor and EV manufacturing. In Bay City, located an hour-and-a-half northeast of Lansing, the DOE has made a $544 million conditional commitment loan to expand manufacturing capacity for SK Siltron CSS. Upon final approval for the loan, the company will increase production of its silicon carbide wafers and will create 200 new jobs. In addition, Advanced Battery Solutions (ABS) was selected by the DOE for a $165 million loan with a focus on increasing production of “next-generation” lithium-ion battery packs that cut carbon emissions while boosting battery efficiency. The funding would be used to expand the company’s Lake Orion site (just 87 miles away from SK Siltron CSS’s facility), which originally opened in 2021. ABS anticipates creating 460 new jobs upon completion.

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Schaeffler plans for future growth in Ohio with the arrival of its Dover plant investment and recent 90,000-sq.-ft. expansion of its Wooster, Ohio site.

Photo courtesy of Schaeffler

By 2032 a new EV automotive facility will be in full swing in Dover, Ohio. This will all be made possible by motion technology company Schaeffler’s $230 million investment. Schaeffler selected the site 82 miles outside of Cleveland to strategically serve its customer base in the U.S. and support current operations in Wooster, Ohio. Construction on the 130,000-sq.-ft. plant will begin soon with completion slated for late 2025. The company plans to manufacture electric axles here, bringing on 450 direct jobs. “We are convinced that the trend towards more electrification will continue. At the same time Schaeffler is ideally positioned to benefit from its technological leadership in hybrid and fuel-efficient technologies, in particular in the U.S. On that basis we are committed to support our clients achieve their emission reduction targets and to realize our growth ambitions,” said Schaeffler AG CEO Klaus Rosenfeld.

Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore, edited by Adam Bruns