Illinois is closing in on a deal to bring a major electric vehicle battery manufacturer to a village 50 miles southwest of the Loop, a move that would supercharge the state’s economic prospects.
The Kankakee County Board on Tuesday approved a property tax abatement for a 160-acre site in Manteno, a critical move in enticing a sizable battery-maker to choose the spot, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. Officials didn’t name the company, but sources told Crain’s it is likely the Chinese battery-maker Gotion, which announced plans last year for a factory in Michigan.
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The project will create 2,600 jobs and involve over $2B in investment, Crain’s reported. While the company hasn’t made a final decision, Manteno Mayor Tim Nugent told Crain’s the city’s site is on the shortlist and that he is hopeful. Other places on the shortlist include Joliet, Ohio and South Carolina, sources told Crain’s.
Per the terms of the abatement deal, the land’s property taxes would double to $2M per year once the site is operating, Crain’s reported. The deal will then freeze the taxes at that level for 30 years.
Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer, has a plant about 90 minutes away from Manteno in Normal and has said it wanted a battery-maker to begin production nearby.
The total state and local incentive package offered to the unnamed company is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, sources told Crain’s.
The Manteno site is largely vacant, other than a warehouse the defunct Kmart retail chain used for distribution. Gotion’s project at the site would be an extension of its proposed $2.4B Michigan battery parts factory. That factory would supply parts for the prospective battery pack assembly plant in Illinois, Crain’s reported.
Electric vehicles are gaining a rapidly accelerating share of the global market, as sales across the world exceeded 10 million in 2022, per the International Energy Agency. In the U.S., 300,000 electric vehicles were sold in 2020, while 1.6 million were sold in 2022.
The share of electric cars in total sales globally has increased more than threefold in the past few years, from about 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022, the agency reported.
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