On Tuesday, the State of Michigan with support from Gov. Jennifer Granholm and under the guidance of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board will select 3 companies that manufacture advanced battery cells to receive $100 million each in state tax credits.
The funding will come from a program started by Gov. Granholm loosely termed "rebrand Michigan from rust to green." Michigan aims to be the leading producer of advanced battery cells and keep jobs here rather than purchasing batteries for EVs and hybrids from sources throughout Asia.
The tax incentives are not the main goal. The incentives are set up to make 3 companies in Michigan viable to receive funding from the federal government later this summer. The federal government will award up to $2 billion in grants this summer to advanced battery manufacturers throughout the country. The incentive from the state will make the chosen companies more likely to receive federal funding.
The 3 chosen companies could provide 3,000 jobs to the state in the short term and up to 20,000 jobs by 2020. But for the state of Michigan the goal lies in reestablishing their automotive dominance across the countries.
Look for an update to this story after the three companies are named on Tuesday.
Source: Detroit Free Press
