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    1. e-Mobility

    Forsee Power planning HQ & Gigafactory in Columbus suburb

    June 28, 2022
    The battery technology base will be in Hilliard, Ohio, near Columbus. The move will shorten the supply chain challenges for the Forsee effort which hopes to reach production capacity of 3 GWh by 2027
    Image credit Forsee Power
    Flex 7 Battery Wrightbus 62bb4a827d43a

    French-based e-Mobility firm Forsee Power is going to build its North American headquarters and Gigafactory in Ohio.

    The battery technology base will be in Hilliard, Ohio, near Columbus. The move will shorten the supply chain challenges for the Forsee effort which hopes to reach production capacity of 3 GWh by 2027.

    Forsee Power also announced it had appointed Faurecia veteran Jay Deis as its president for North America. Deis, an American citizen, will oversee establishment of the headquarters, manufacturing operations and product expertise.

    He has 20 years experience in the automotive and commercial vehicle industries.

    “We found Columbus to have the right ecosystem of potential supply chain partners, academic partners and the right fit for workforce as we are looking at hiring production operators, R&D engineers and a full leadership team to run our North American facility,” Christophe Gurtner, Chairman and CEO of Forsee Power, said in a statement.

    “The U.S. (presidential) administration has designed a very ambitious roadmap toward decarbonation. There are tremendous opportunities to grow on our target market segments," Gurtner added.

    Forsee Power will target the commercial vehicle and train markets. The company has equipped more than 1,200 buses and 100,000 light vehicles with its batteries.

    The Hilliard site offers 138,000 square feet and can be expanded, the company said.

    JobsOhio CEO J.P. Nauseef said the Forsee Power move brings the state it’s first U.S. battery manufacturing facility. Last month, Fisker and Foxconn said they would partner to build the Fisker all-electric vehicle in a Lordstown plant.

    “This investment from overseas attracts a global innovator in the sustainable electromobility solutions that will bring 150 good-paying jobs while strengthening this critical supply chain in Ohio,” Nauseef said. “The state has a long history in the automotive manufacturing sector, including the longtime GM plant at Lordstown.

    Earlier this month, a subisidary of Forsee investor Ballard Power Systems announced plans to equip 20 zero-emission Refuse Collective Vehicles with Forsee batteries.

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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