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A planned battery assembly project in Detroit received approval Tuesday for state business incentives worth about $12 million.
This includes $9 million in Michigan Business Development Program grants, approximately $1.3 million in 15-year state essential services assessments, and approximately $2.4 million in brownfield redevelopment tax credits.
Fortescue, an Australian-based company, plans to use its historic factory site on Pickett Street in Detroit as a production site for one of its subsidiaries, USA Fortescue Pickett LLC.
Fortescue WAE CEO Judith Judson worked on the incentive request to the state.
Judson said Fortescue considered nearly 100 other locations for the project with the help of the proposed incentive package before landing on Detroit.
“Ultimately, the tremendous support from the state and the city led to this selection. It was just a lot of things coming together,” Judson said at Tuesday’s Michigan Strategic Fund board meeting.
Approval for the project incentives was obtained from the Michigan Strategic Fund Board.
According to a briefing document submitted to the MSF Board of Directors, Operation Fortescue has the potential to create 560 new jobs and invest $210 million.
Prior to the board’s vote on the matter, Mr. Judson asked whether there were any local partners the company would be working with.
“The fact that there is a very strong supply chain in the region was also one of the reasons we were attracted to this site. So we are currently looking at producing here and we are doing a lot of support work. “We’re working hard,” Judson said.
Judson predicted the first assembly line could be up and running in 2025.
Construction on the site could begin as early as this spring.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s MSF board meeting also approved a $1.5 million business development grant to an electric vehicle charging company.
The German-based company’s EcoG subsidiary plans to use leased space in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood as the home of its North American headquarters.
“We believe this is the strongest opportunity, but also the strongest ecosystem for what we are moving forward with in the North American market. That is why we are moving our North American headquarters to Corktown. We then made the decision to center in Michigan,” EcoG CEO Jorg Heuer said at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Hoyer said the state outperformed competing facilities in Atlanta, Georgia, and Cleveland, Ohio.
The project could create up to 45 high-paying jobs and up to $14.4 million in capital investment, according to presentation documents.
Both awards come as other large projects, such as battery factories near Big Rapids and Marshall, have faced community backlash and delays.
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