Electric vehicle technology firm Proterra is investing a minimum of $76 million for the development of a new EV battery system manufacturing plant in South Carolina.
The facility will be situated at the 42.76-acre Carolina Commerce Center in Greer, South Carolina near Proterra’s electric bus manufacturing facility in Greenville and adjacent to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. Additional investments are planned over the next several years. The factory is expected to open in the second half of 2022.
It will produce battery systems for the commercial EVs of Proterra Powered customers. These include delivery and work trucks, buses, industrial equipment and more. It will produce the batteries, leveraging Proterra’s modular battery system manufacturing platform to facilitate capital efficient and scalable production output. Proterra expects to create over 200 new jobs at the 327,000ft2 plant.
By 2025, the factory is expected to support additional production capacity.
Proterra President Gareth Joyce said, “Electric vehicle technology is an opportunity to create clean energy jobs, strengthen American manufacturing, and advance the U.S.’s climate leadership on a global scale. Through opening our new battery system production plant, Proterra is proud to help realize these important goals while driving the transition to clean, quiet transportation with our EV technology.”
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster added, “Today’s announcement by Proterra is further proof that South Carolina is leading the charge in the electric vehicle revolution. We applaud Proterra for the work they’re doing to create a more sustainable future for the transportation industry and look forward to their continued success in the Upstate.”
