**UPDATE 4/22/21** – If your community would like to obtain the contact information for this project, we will release information for your personal outreach. Please contact brooke@gslisolutions.com for more information.
**UPDATE 3/22/21** One of GSLI’s Ohio members was able to contact the project directly after GSLI released the contact information. The member was told that the company decided to concentrate on a Germany site right now, but they will be open to US sites in the future. The company had originally mentioned an interest between a U.S. or German site. The Germany site opportunities presented themselves quickly near the end of 2020, so the project decided to focus efforts there. The company is very open to a U.S. site in the next few years.
**UPDATE 2/19/21** The project is now paused. A community connected with the project lead and they were able to get a new update. The project is still valid in the US, although it is now pushed back by 6-12 months. The company re-strategized and has now placed a focus on locating a European facility first.
-Company is very interested in supplying battery factories with lithium products to be used in electric vehicle batteries. They are thinking about upstream investments in the USA, but it’s a challenge for them to learn about the possible subsidies available to them and whether it is realistic to consider different areas.
Company has mentioned Michigan and Ohio of interest, but they are open to learning more about companies with lithium industry in their area. Company is uninformed to opportunities in U.S., so we are looking for prime locations for lithium production or electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. Project says he is TBD on the building size, but that land is a priority at the moment. They anticipate 500 jobs created during construction phase and 120 jobs during the operational phase. Top priorities at this time: Incentives, proximity to transport infrastructure and to battery manufacturing. They anticipate the average salary to be around $75,000 (preliminary estimate provided by project).
Reached out on Oct 30, was told their next step is to whittle the list down and then reach out with more specific site requirements, particularly regarding waste disposal and permitting.