ONE Circle 20 GWh battery cell factory in Michigan announced
American battery startup Our Next Energy (ONE) has announced its own circular model of cell manufacturing gigafactories 'ONE Circle', starting with a 20 GWh facility in the state of Michigan in the United States.
The company claims that it is planning to invest $1.6 billion in the proposed gigafactory to make enough battery cells for about 200,000 EVs every year, while also creating 2,112 high-skilled green manufacturing jobs in the country.
The state of Michigan has approved a funding of $ 200 million for the project located in Van Buren Township near the Detroit airport. The facility is expected to become fully operational by the end of 2027.
This marks the birth of an emerging trend away from NCM based cell factories making ONE's Michigan factory first in developing North American material supply chains to commercialize LFP technologies that do not sacrifice EV range, said the company's press statement.
"ONE is thrilled to select Michigan for our first cell factory, due to the state's unique combination of battery talent, proximity to material supply and access to low-cost energy," said Mujeeb Ijaz, founder and CEO of ONE.
"We applaud the leadership of Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the MEDC team, led by Quentin Messer. In addition, our collaboration and new strategic partnerships with DTE Energy, Van Buren Township, and Wayne County have helped ONE build a strong foundation for clean tech manufacturing in Michigan", he added.
ONE has already raised $ 197 million towards its giga factory plans, and aims to raise another $ 150 million by the end of this year. The company's prominent investors include the BMW Group's venture capital, thereby providing an opportunity for ONE's battery technology to power a prototype vehicle of the BMW brand.
The company claims that by 2028, ONE Circle will drive down carbon emissions by 45 percent by onshoring its supply chain and integrating materials refinement with its Massachusetts-based partner 6K Energy into its manufacturing processes, while leveraging renewable energy for 50 percent of its power needs.
ONE is also partnering with a North American battery recycler to be able to bring recycled materials back into its LFP and anode-free cells. This more sustainable approach to cell manufacturing is further supported by ONE's partnership with DTE Energy to operate a grid-tied factory with utility-scale energy storage.
ONE Circle will act as a giant battery in its Gigafactory-to-Grid model to help stabilize the local power grid and provide renewable energy to the surrounding community in partnership with DTE Energy, according to the startup.
