The 235,000-square-foot facility is ramping up volume to handle a projected $300 million in annual sales, and will employ 300 people once it’s running at full speed.

Battery builder Saft is now shipping the first cells to roll off the production lines at its new factory in Jacksonville, Florida. Several hundred were exported to European customers. The 235,000-square-foot facility is ramping up volume to handle a projected $300 million in annual sales, and will employ 300 people once it’s running at full speed. The company received a $95.5 million grant from the Department of Energy specifically for EV battery manufacturing. Look for lots more details in the weeks to come, as we’re sure this will receive just as much coverage in the mainstream press as Solyndra did.

“Starting volume industrial-scale deliveries to customers from the Jacksonville plant opened in September this year confirms the sound foundations we have put in place, both in terms of the advanced production technology we have implemented and the team of people we brought together to run it,” said Dan Miller, Jacksonville operations manager. “We are now ramping up production to the volume of cells a year we need to address the constantly growing demand worldwide from customers who require reliable, high performance energy storage solutions.”

Saft is a multinational firm with operations in 19 countries. It builds a wide range of high-tech batteries, not just for EVs, but also for backup power, transportation, space and defense applications.

Image: Saft