Redwood Materials is reportedly looking at Berkely County, South Carolina, as a potential home for a new $3.5 billion battery recycling plant.
As per The Post and Courier, the company is advancing the project under the name “Project Drift” and is currently discussing property tax breaks and other incentives with local and state officials.
The potential facility would employ 1,500 workers at the Camp Hall Commerce Park in Ridgeville, South Carolina.
The facility would mean a $3.5 billion investment in the state, making it the single biggest economic development announcement in its history.
The sources that spoke to The Post and Courier confirmed that the deal is not yet finalized.
There are several hurdles still to overcome, including:
- Incentives package which may include worker training, tax credits and sales tax exemptions.
- Finalizing the land sale
- Determining who will pay $110 million for road improvements around the facility.
If the parties are able to overcome these hurdles sources close to the office of South Carolina governor Henry McMaster say an official announcement could come as soon as mid-December.
Redwood Materials is based in Nevada and was started in 2017 by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel. The company first partnered with Panasonic in 2019 to recycle scrap from its battery production operations at Giga Nevada.
This will be Redwood Materials‘ third facility in North America if it is approved and built.
The company confirmed plans to expand to Europe with the company considering factory locations in Scandinavia and Germany back in September
Although the rumours are circling, both Redwood Materials, South Carolina officials and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declined to comment on the potential deal.
