Birla Carbon to make essential component for batteries used in EVs, energy storage
Automakers and battery manufacturers are expanding in South Carolina, including BMW, which operates this plant near Spartanburg, South Carolina. (CoStar)
By Andy Peters CoStar News | October 10, 2024 | 1:59 P.M.
A manufacturer of synthetic graphite plans to develop a $1 billion plant near Columbia, South Carolina, to produce an essential component used in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.
Birla Carbon's 435,000-square-foot facility is set to be developed at the Tri-County Industrial Park in Orangeburg, the South Carolina Department of Commerce said in a release Tuesday. Operations are expected to begin by 2026.
The plant, the company's first in the state, is projected to employ about 124 workers.
Automakers and battery manufacturers have completed or are building dozens of new facilities in the United States, and South Carolina is the location of many of the projects. Volkswagen in February started construction on a $2 billion plant in Blythewood, South Carolina, to make Scout-brand electric SUVs. Meanwhile, BMW is developing a $700 million factory near Spartanburg, South Carolina, to make EV batteries.
Birla plans to initially produce about 25,000 tons of synthetic graphite yearly at the South Carolina plant. Synthetic graphite is used as an anode material in batteries. Birla did not disclose if it has existing contracts or is in negotiations with potential buyers for its graphite.
The Tri-County Industrial Park is an undeveloped site with up to 380 acres available for development, according to the Central SC Alliance, an economic development group. The industrial site has direct access to Interstate 26 and a Norfolk Southern railroad line.
Birla did not respond to CoStar News' request for comment. A spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Commerce declined to comment.
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