City officials joined legislators and Governor Andy Beshear on Tuesday morning to break ground on a $2 billion electric vehicle battery gigafactory in Bowling Green. The Envision AESC plant will employ 2,000 people and produce 300,000 batteries a year by 2027.
Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott welcomed the company to his city. “We are thrilled that Envision AESC picked Bowling Green as their next home,” he said. “Their decision to choose us is a testament to our community, our schools, and our business community, which we know Envision will be a vital and active member of for years to come.”
The Japanese-based company will produce battery cells and modules for next-generation electric vehicles (EVs) at the 3,000-square-foot facility in Bowling Green’s Kentucky Transpark. “Our new gigafactory and supporting ecosystem will provide a catalyst for further investment in the local supply chain and whole lifecycle opportunities of batteries, creating thousands of new jobs in the heart of Warren County and securing Kentucky’s leading role in the automotive industry of the future,” Envision AESC U.S. Managing Director Jeff Deaton added. “We look forward to developing the next stages of this important project together.”
Senate President Pro Tem David Givens (R-Greensburg) credited the legislature’s focus and commitment to creating “an environment in Kentucky that was open to business.” He stressed their recent focus away from taxing productivity with the passage of reforms in the 2022 revenue bill. “We’re creating an environment with the help of so many others and enacting policies that are making Kentucky the place to do business.”
House Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect) touted Kentucky’s recent announcements in automotive production. “Kentucky is truly on the edge of cornering the EV market,” he told Tuesday’s crowd.
Senator Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green) and Representative Michael Meredith (R-Oakland) thanked the many state and local officials who worked together to make the project and state funding happen.
The Bowling Green site ranks as the second largest new development in the state following a $5.8 billion announcement by Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation in September 2021. Those companies will build the BlueOval SK Battery Park approximately nine miles from Elizabethtown.
