Power solutions provider EnerBlu, Inc. announced in December a $372 million advanced battery manufacturing facility would be built at the Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park in Pikeville, bringing 875 jobs with an average pay of $39 an hour.
EnerBlu will construct a 1 million-square-foot, high-tech facility to manufacture lithium-titanate (LTO) batteries, called EnerBlu Advanced Energy Storage Units. The batteries will power transit busses, commercial trucks, military vehicles and other equipment. Construction is scheduled to start in mid-2018 and the facility’s opening is planned for 2020.
Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc. (SOAR) worked with company officials from the inception of the idea and co-hosted the first site visit for EnerBlu officials. The project demonstrated the collaboration that is at the core of SOAR’s mission. Partners in the project included SOAR Co-Chairs Congressman Hal Rogers and Governor Matt Bevin, the state economic development cabinet, the city of Pikeville, One East Kentucky, Kentucky Power, and others.
EnerBlu plans to manufacture high-performance batteries for buses and other large vehicles. A new manufacturing facility will be constructed in Pikeville in the next two to three years.