ONE Launches $1.6B EV Battery Plant

ONE Circle. Image courtesy of Our Next Energy Inc.

Ashley Capital has landed a major tenant that will invest $1.6 billion into its recently constructed industrial building in Van Buren Township in Michigan.

Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE) signed a multi-year lease at the property, which will be named ONE Circle. The lease terms were not disclosed.

ONE will transform the 659,589-square-foot facility into a battery cell manufacturing plant for producing electric vehicle battery packs. ONE’s efforts are also being supported by a $200 million state grant.

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ONE is planning to occupy the newly constructed facility in January 2023, where it will begin upgrades and equipment installation immediately. The company is planning to use ONE Circle for raw material refinement, cathode materials production, and cell and battery manufacturing.

ONE Circle. Image courtesy of Our Next Energy Inc.

Mujeeb Ijaz, founder & CEO of ONE, said in prepared remarks that ONE Circle will be ONE’s first cell factory. When operating at full capacity by the end of 2027, the campus is expected to accommodate 2,112 employees.

The facility is located at 42060 Ecorse Road within Ashley Capital’s Crossroads Distribution Center. The industrial campus has a total of three buildings, two of which are completed and one that is still under construction. Crossroads Distribution Center totals nearly 1.6 million square feet and ONE will be joining FedEx Ground as a tenant of the campus.

Developing a greener future

ONE said that it went through a competitive site selection process before going with Ashley Capital’s facility in Michigan. The company evaluated 12 states and a Canadian province, but ultimately went with Michigan due to the state’s plans to further the push for electric vehicles and increase electric vehicle infrastructure and affordability. On its end, ONE is planning to implement an inclusive workforce development program, which will begin in 2024, aimed at re-training Michigan residents for green manufacturing jobs at ONE Circle.

For Ashley Capital, ONE Circle is just one of several industrial properties in its Michigan portfolio, including a southern counterpart to Crossroads Distribution Center located in Belleville. Outside Michigan, the company is also working on renovating a nearly 800,000-square-foot industrial property in Prince George, Va., that was acquired in July 2019.