The construction of a 54GWh battery Gigafactory in Imperial Valley, California, is to go ahead, which claims will be one of the largest in North America and operate on a ‘hyper-local’ sustainable model.
The Gigafactory is being built by new company Statevolt, led by Lars Carlstrom, the founder of Britishvolt and founder-CEO of Italvolt. Carlstrom, and the newly-formed Statevolt team, will harness previous learnings in Gigafactory design and engineering, to accelerate the construction process and create an industry leading facility.
To launch the new facility, Statevolt has also signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR). Under the terms of the LOI, CTR will deliver sustainable, locally produced lithium and geothermal power, from the company’s to-be-constructed Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power development.
Statevolt is currently undertaking due diligence to determine the best location on which to build its facility. Once fully operational, the Gigafactory will be one of largest in North America, with a battery production capacity of 54GWh, serving around 650,000 electric vehicles a year at full capacity.
CTR’s leadership team, having constructed and managed geothermal operations in the Imperial Valley region for over 30 years, are uniquely positioned to provide Statevolt with strong regional experience and technical knowledge to optimize Statevolt’s commitment to deliver the highest standards of sustainability.
Statevolt’s planned partnership with CTR brings a new, ‘hyper-local’ sustainable business model for lithium-ion battery development in the U.S. The arrangement is one of the first of its kind in the world and will see the business source its key feedstock, lithium, and its power from local resources, in order to minimize the environmental impact of production and build a more sustainable and secure supply chain. Simultaneously it will help facilitate the development of a micro-industry in the area, delivering up to 2,500 direct jobs for Imperial Valley and the region.
The LOI between Statevolt and CTR is built on the two companies’ shared commitment to support the energy transition in California and the US Global Lithium demand for EVs and storage which is forecast to reach 383 kilotons by 2030.
Following the Biden Administration’s target to ensure that half of automotive sales are EVs by 2030, the rapid development of batteries and supply chain resilience is crucial to meet consumer demand, in the near-to-medium term.
