Commercial EV OEM Proterra (NASDAQ: PTRA) plans to open a new manufacturing plant in South Carolina to produce battery systems for its Proterra Powered division, which provides batteries for other EV-makers’ commercial vehicles, including delivery and work trucks, industrial equipment, buses and more.

The new factory will be Proterra’s third battery production facility. In December 2020, the company opened its second battery production site, co-located at its electric bus manufacturing facility in Los Angeles County.

Proterra’s new 327,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will be located at the 43-acre Carolina Commerce Center in Greer, South Carolina, near Proterra’s electric bus manufacturing plant in Greenville, and adjacent to the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport.

Proterra plans to invest at least $76 million in the new plant, and expects to create more than 200 new jobs there over the next several years. The factory is expected to launch in the second half of 2022 with multiple gigawatt-hours of annual production capacity.

“Electric vehicle technology is an opportunity to create clean energy jobs, strengthen American manufacturing, and advance the US’s climate leadership,” said Gareth Joyce, President of Proterra. “With our company’s history in South Carolina and the Upstate region, we are excited to build on our strong partnership with the state of South Carolina, Spartanburg County, and the City of Greer, and bring EV battery system manufacturing to the region.”

Source: Proterra