Honda announces new EV battery plant location

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COLUMBUS — Forty-five years to the day Honda announced they had chosen Ohio as the location for their first American manufacturing facility, they announced that they had again chosen Ohio as the location for their new EV battery plant. The plant will be located near Interstate 71 in rural Fayette County, not far from Washington Court House and Jeffersonville.

Bob Nelson, Honda executive vice president, made the announcement at an invitation-only event held in the Atrium of the Statehouse in Columbus. He was joined by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp, Ohio Director of Development Lydia Mihalik, and JobsOhio President JP Nauseef, among others.

The Statehouse Atrium was the same location Honda executives had made their original announcement 45 years before. At that time, Ohio Gov. James A. Rhodes had developed a personal relationship with Honda founder Soichiro Honda. Their personal relationship helped land the original Honda plant at Marysville.

Following the construction of the original plant, additional plants were constructed in East Liberty and Anna. The existing plants in Anna, East Liberty and Marysville will receive approximately $700 million to retool to construct electric vehicles and components for those vehicles. The cases to hold the EV battery cells will be manufactured in Anna.

Honda officials have announced plans to introduce 30 new electric vehicles by 2030 and plans to sell all zero-emission automobiles by 2040. It is expected that internal combustion engines would cease to be produced once that threshold is reached.

”Next month we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the production of the first automobiles in Ohio,” Nelson told the standing-room only crowd in the Atrium. “Shelby, Logan and Union counties, thank you for your support over the last four decades!”

“Today is a great day for Ohio!” DeWine said. “This announcement will mean at least 2,200 new jobs for the state of Ohio.”

Honda’s announcement follows several others as automakers position themselves to compete in the EV market. SEMCORP Manufacturing USA, LLC recently broke ground on their first North American manufacturing facility in Sidney. They announced they had selected Sidney after meeting with Sidney, Shelby County and JobsOhio officials on Dec. 20, 2021. That plant will produce separator film for EV battery cells.

Experts have predicted that only 5.6% of new vehicle sales will be EVs this year. They expect that number to increase to 13.5% in 2025 and to just over 36% by 2030.

Given the short notice about the press conference, the only officials invited to attend from Shelby County who were able to make the trip were Sidney City Manager Andrew Bowsher, City Councilmember Mike Barhorst, and Sidney-Shelby Economic Partnership Executive Director Jim Hill.

“The invitations arrived by email late Friday afternoon,” Barhorst said. “They were non-transferrable invitations but even so, my Tuesday schedule was already set. I decided to change my schedule and go after I phoned the Governor’s Office and was told that ‘the announcement would impact Sidney and Shelby County.’”

“We had earlier received assurances that the production of EVs would not impact Honda’s presence in Shelby County, that employment was not expected to decline. In fact, it would appear from this announcement that employment will increase slightly,” said City Manager Andrew Bowsher.

The new plant in Fayette County represents an investment of approximately $4.4 billion, and is a joint venture with South Korean LG Energy Solutions. The plant is expected to begin production in 2025.

“We are sending a message around the world,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Ohio is the place to be.”
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/10/web1_IMG_8046.jpg“We are sending a message around the world,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Ohio is the place to be.”

“Today’s announcement marks another great win for Ohio!” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/10/web1_IMG_8071.jpg“Today’s announcement marks another great win for Ohio!” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.

“New manufacturing companies are locating across the state,” JobsOhio President JP Nauseef said. “It is in large part because of the grit, determination and ingenuity of Ohio workers.”
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/10/web1_IMG_8104.jpg“New manufacturing companies are locating across the state,” JobsOhio President JP Nauseef said. “It is in large part because of the grit, determination and ingenuity of Ohio workers.”

“The core of Mr. Honda’s beliefs were to dream big, understand that you can make anything, and understand that relationships must be built on mutual trust,” Honda Executive Vice President Bob Nelson said.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/10/web1_IMG_8036.jpg“The core of Mr. Honda’s beliefs were to dream big, understand that you can make anything, and understand that relationships must be built on mutual trust,” Honda Executive Vice President Bob Nelson said.

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