AESC, a world-leading battery technology company, has announced the expansion of its lithium-ion electric vehicle battery manufacturing operations in Florence County. The Company’s $1.5 billion investment will create 1,080 new jobs. This investment follows AESC’s initial announcement in December 2022 and expansion announcement in December 2023, resulting in a total investment of $3.12 billion and supporting 2,700 new jobs across the local community.
“We greatly value our partnership with South Carolina and Florence County as we strengthen our work together through this latest expansion that enhances our commitment to create high value jobs in the region and invest in the state,” said AESC CEO Shoichi Matsumoto. “South Carolina is a crucial part of our strategy to power next generation electric vehicles for customers across the U.S. by manufacturing high-performance, longer-range EV batteries locally. Through our collaborative efforts, I am excited that we are able to support thousands of new workers and increase both AESC and South Carolina’s leadership in providing advanced clean energy transportation solutions.”
“AESC’s second expansion in less than four months in Florence County signals yet another vote of confidence in our state and our people,” said Governor Henry McMaster. “This investment is another monumental win for Florence County, and we look forward to the substantial impact this will have throughout South Carolina.”
In 2022, the Company announced a multi-year partnership with BMW to supply technology-leading battery cells to be used in the next generation electric vehicle models produced at Plant Spartanburg. AESC’s latest expansion will extend the partnership to additionally provide electric vehicle battery components for BMW Group’s Mexico Assembly Operations.
With this expansion of AESC’s strong production footprint in the United States, the Company will construct a second state-of-the-art electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility adjacent to the first building which broke ground in June 2023. The AESC campus is located in the more than 1,000-acre Florence Global Technology Park.