Startup Statevolt, a sister company of Britishvolt and Italvolt, plans to invest $4 billion to construct a new battery factory in California’s Imperial Valley. The new company’s team will take advantage of “previous learnings in gigafactory design and engineering,” as well as “an ecosystem of established project development partners.”

Statevolt is currently searching for the ideal location for its facility. Once fully operational, the new gigafactory will have an annual battery production capacity of 54 GWh—enough to equip around 650,000 EVs.

Statevolt has signed a letter of intent with Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR), which will deliver sustainable, locally produced lithium and geothermal power from its soon-to-be constructed Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power development.

Statevolt’s partnership with CTR is part of a “hyper-local” business model for battery manufacturing in the US, which Britishvolt is also pursuing in the UK. The plant will obtain its key feedstock—lithium—and its power from local sources in order to minimize the environmental impact of production and build a sustainable and secure supply chain. The new facility is expected to create up to 2,500 direct jobs in the region.

“Today, we face a significant shortage in the amount of lithium that is required to meet the demand for electric vehicles,” said Statevolt leader Lars Carlstrom. “We are pioneering a new, hyper-local business model, which prioritizes sustainability and resilience in the supply chain to solve this issue. More importantly, we believe this model will offer Statevolt a significant advantage in producing lithium-ion batteries at scale.”

“We applaud Lars and his team for taking a proactive approach to ensure the company’s future lithium supply, while also consciously seeking out the cleanest lithium and power available for Statevolt’s first US gigafactory,” said Rod Colwell, CEO of Controlled Thermal Resources. “The extraordinary growth in electric vehicle adoption and the emerging demand for energy storage systems to provide clean power highlight the urgent need to develop a strong and secure battery supply chain in the United States.”

Source: Statevolt