Global specialty chemicals company Albemarle has reportedly acquired a property in Charlotte, North Carolina, to develop its Albemarle Technology Park (ATP) worth $180, per Mining.Com. It is a top-tier facility dedicated to the company’s lithium research and other products.
“Albemarle Technology Park is part of our mine-to-market innovation strategy to invest in the US EV battery supply chain and to be a leader in advanced lithium materials for next-generation energy storage.”
CEO Kent Masters
Project objective
Albemarle aims to innovate lithium recovery and manufacturing processes in the new facility. Furthermore, it intends to develop new forms of lithium to improve battery performance.
Additionally, it plans to increase by threefold the number of Ph.D. holders working in the Albemarle Technology Park (ATP).
Government involvement
The State of North Carolina granted Albemarle a $13 million incentive package to support the project. The company’s new plant will be erected from an old IBM and Flextronics site.
“Albemarle’s work on the next generation of products related to lithium batteries really advances North Carolina’s leadership in the emerging clean energy economy. Reducing carbon emissions is good for our environment and great for our economy too.”
Governor Cooper
Remarkably, the company claims to generate about 200 jobs at the new facility, offering an average annual salary of $94,000.
Schedule
Albemarle anticipates occupying the new facility by early 2025, while the ATP campus is projected to be finished by late 2026.
Notably, such initiatives are crucial to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in the US because they motivate more businesses to produce them. Once domestic manufacturing prices stabilize, the high cost of importing essential battery components from other nations will be addressed.
