Michigan Withdraws Incentives for $2.4 Billion Electric Vehicle Battery Facility

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Gotion, a prominent Chinese battery manufacturer, has decided to halt its plans for establishing a $2.4 billion facility in Michigan, aimed at producing components for electric vehicles, as confirmed by state authorities on Thursday.

Initially unveiled in October 2022, this venture was projected to generate 2,350 jobs. However, it faced opposition from certain legislators due to the company’s Chinese ownership. According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), a $125 million state grant intended for the project was never utilized. The MEDC also stated its intentions to reclaim an additional $23.6 million state award that was allocated for purchasing the site.

The development was first covered by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business, where an MEDC representative expressed skepticism about the plant’s feasibility without the grant funding.

“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, we recognize the tremendous responsibility we have to the people we serve to make sure their hard-earned tax dollars are spent wisely and appropriately,” stated the MEDC in a press release shared with local affiliate WOOD-TV on Thursday. “We remain committed to attracting advanced manufacturing investments, particularly in the areas of internal combustion engine (ICE), electric vehicles (EV), and hybrid technology, to ensure Michigan remains a leader in the evolving mobility sector. Our efforts will continue to focus on bringing well-paying jobs and economic growth to communities across Michigan.”

Introduced in October 2022, the proposed plant carried a price tag of about $2.4 billion and promised to create about 2,350 jobs.

But many residents and Republican lawmakers pushed back over Gotion’s ties to China Gotion Inc. is a subsidiary of China-based Gotion High-tech Co. Ltd. as well as environmental concerns. Gotion Inc. said the project had nothing to do with the Chinese Communist Party and argued the plant would create high-paying jobs and spur economic growth.

On Thursday, Green Township resident Lori Brock said the project “would have been horrible.”

“It would have entirely uprooted our way of life. Half the people, more than half the people that live here, live here because they don’t want to be in the city,” she said. “We have rivers, we have lakes, we have trout fishing, everything you could ever want in an up-north, rural community. … They were going to uproot that entire thing with absolutely no input from the community.”

Green Township initially approved the project in 2023, but voters then recalled and replaced several members of local leadership, with the new members voting to end support. Gotion sued in response. A judge initially sided with Gotion, but the decision was appealed. In January, Mecosta County commissioners also pulled their support of the project.

local affiliate WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan, contributed to this report.

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Michigan Withdraws Incentives for $2.4 Billion Electric Vehicle Battery Facility

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Michigan Withdraws Incentives for $2.4 Billion Electric Vehicle Battery Facility

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