$1.2B Plant Breaks Ground in Tucson

ABF’s Tucson factory will come online within the 500-acre Aerospace Research Campus. Rendering courtesy of American Battery Factory

American Battery Factory has broken ground on a 2 million-square-foot battery cell manufacturing plant in Tucson, Ariz. The facility, slated to become the nation’s largest gigafactory for the production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells, represents $1.2 billion in capital investment and is expected to bring $3.1 billion in economic impact to the State of Arizona.

Project partners include the Arizona Commerce Authority, Sun Corridor Inc., a regional economic development authority, Pima Community College and Tucson Electric Power.

The largest LFP battery cell factory in the U.S.

ABF’s first in a series of planned factories, the Tucson facility was supposed to commence construction on September 2nd; however, the groundbreaking was postponed following initial survey work, AZ Central reported.

The factory will take shape on 267 acres within the 500-acre Aerospace Research Campus, a location the company selected last November and signed a lease-purchase agreement with Pima County the following month. At the time, the land was valued at approximately $23.3 million.

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The project’s first phase, which will include the company’s headquarters, an R&D center and the initial factory module, is slated to come online by 2025. To be built by Sprung Instant Structures utilizing rapid modular construction, the facility will be airtight, facilitating waste reduction and battery cell protection. The factory is expected to output enough batteries annually to store 3 billion watts of power, according to The Salt Lake Tribune reporting.

The site is at the intersection of Interstate 10 and South Rita Road, adjacent to the Tucson International Airport. The location is also some 14 miles south of downtown Tucson and 60 miles from the Mexico border. Other tenants at the campus include World View Enterprises and Raytheon Missile Systems.

Battery manufacturing driving Sun Belt investments

The battery manufacturing sector has registered a huge surge this year with numerous sizable facilities being announced or commencing construction, especially throughout the Sun Belt.

Recently, Hyundai and LG formed a joint venture to develop a $4.3 billion battery plant in Savannah, Ga., slated to start production in 2025. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 30 GWh, able to support the manufacturing of 300,000 EVs.

Earlier this year, LG also committed $5.5 billion for two such facilities near Phoenix, representing the largest-ever single investment for a battery factory in North America. The project also features a manufacturing plant for LFP pouch-type batteries.