Form Energy to establish $760M U.S. iron-air battery plant

Form Energy will partner with the State of West Virginia to build its first iron-air battery manufacturing facility on 55 acres of property in the northern panhandle of West Virginia, along the Ohio River, in the city of Weirton. Form Energy expects to start construction of its Weirton factory in 2023 and begin manufacturing iron-air battery systems in 2024 for broad commercialization.

“Weirton is long overdue for some incredible news,” West Virginia Governor Jim Justice said. “At one point, Weirton was one of America’s most important steel towns—a national leader in steel production. Now, this historic city is looking toward the future, and it’s very bright with Form Energy opening its doors. We structured a unique financial incentive package worth up to $290 million in asset-based, performance financing to support their decision to locate in Weirton.”

The new battery manufacturing plant is expected to create a minimum of 750 new full-time jobs and will represent a total investment of up to $760 million.

Form Energy is an American energy storage technology and manufacturing company that is developing and commercializing an iron-air battery capable of storing electricity for 100 hours at system costs competitive with legacy power plants. The company says it expects its multi-day battery will reliably run on 100% low-cost renewable energy.

BorgWarner has agreed to acquire the electric vehicle solution, smart grid and smart energy businesses of Hubei Surpass Sun Electric (SSE). The transaction has an enterprise value of up to RMB 410 million (approx. $59.36 million).

Headquartered in Xiangyang, Hubei province, China, SSE’s electrification business supplies patented electric vehicle charging solutions to customers in China and more than 70 other countries. SSE says it has delivered over 50,000 charging points and has led the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of more than 250 charging station sites. SSE’s charging and electrification capabilities in China are expected to complement BorgWarner’s existing capabilities in Europe and North America, the companies say. SSE’s 2022 revenues for the electrification business are expected to be approximately RMB 180 million (approx. $26.06 million).