Hefty Illinois tax incentive package helps lure Chinese EV battery plant

[September 12, 2023]  By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A hefty tax incentive package has lured a Chinese-based battery manufacturer to Illinois.

Gotion has announced it will build a $2 billion lithium battery manufacturing plant in the community of Manteno in Kankakee County.

Gotion’s total incentive package from the state of Illinois and local governments, which includes Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Act, Invest in Illinois and other incentives, is valued at $536 million.

A similar proposal by Gotion to also seek taxpayer funding for a new plant in Michigan has been met with widespread opposition in part because of concerns about Gotion’s connections to the Peoples Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.

The company is the fifth to make a deal with the state of Illinois under the two-year-old REV program. The Gotion facility will make lithium battery cells and battery packs used in electric vehicles.

“Those batteries will be built by more than 2,600 full time Illinois workers, bringing not just new jobs but also economic development and opportunity to the residents of this region,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (center) with others during an event in Kankakee County Friday
Facebook / Governor JB Pritzker

The chairman of Gotion’s parent company in a statement said the group was drawn to Illinois because of “a supportive state government.”

The agreement includes the establishment of a state-of-the-art manufacturing training academy to educate workers for careers in clean energy. In addition, the state will offer grants to workforce providers to train and prepare regional employees for the available jobs.

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said Illinois is an ideal location for the plant.

“We are a great state situated in the center of the nation with world-class cities, institutions and transportation networks,” Harmon said.

The plant is expected to begin production in 2024.