Georgia’s Battery-Powered Future

Less than two decades ago, the Kia Georgia plant made history – as the Korean automaker’s first manufacturing operation in the U.S. and, at the time, the largest economic project in Georgia.

Incredible Progress: Chris Smith, chief project implementation officer and general counsel of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, at the site of the metaplant, which is expected to open later this year. | Photo credit: Frank Fortune

Kia’s $1.2 billion facility, along with a network of suppliers, brought thousands of jobs – and new life – to Troup County, a once-struggling textile area that had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. More importantly, it made Georgia a player in auto manufacturing once again, a legacy that dates back to 1915 when Ford established a manufacturing plant and its Southeastern headquarters in Atlanta.

This spring, Kia will celebrate another first with a $200 million investment. Its new three-row electric SUV, the Kia EV9, will be the first EV manufactured in the state. It’s not likely to stay solo for long. Georgia is emerging as a hub of EV manufacturing, thanks in large part to the ongoing commitment of Kia as well as a multibillion-dollar investment by Hyundai. Imola, an Italian manufacturer of customized EVs, announced plans to open an EV manufacturing plant in Fort Valley within the next two years. Rivian, a California-based truck manufacturer, has put its planned $5 billion Georgia investment on hold.

“Once up to full capacity, the metaplant has the capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles a year.” Chris Smith, chief project implementation officer and general counsel, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America

The large EV projects are bringing a host of battery manufacturers and other automotive suppliers to the state, from Metro Atlanta to the west central region to Southeast Georgia.

“Today, the five largest projects in the state’s history have all been related to e-mobility,” says Kristi Brigman, deputy commissioner of global commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Broadly speaking, since 2018, projects related to the e-mobility supply chain have created about 32,200 new jobs in Georgia and $27 billion in investment.”

Hyundai Leads New EV Investment

The largest of these projects – the Hyundai Metaplant in Ellabell in Bryan County – is actually ahead of schedule.

The project, announced in 2022, now represents an investment of more than $7.5 billion in Georgia, counting investments by suppliers and partners including a venture with Korean conglomerate LG Energy Systems to make battery packs at the site. The plant has made “incredible progress” since breaking ground in October 2022, says Chris Smith, chief project implementation officer and general counsel of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America. In February, Hyundai made it official: the first EVs will be produced in the fourth quarter of 2024, ahead of the previous announced 2025 target.

Smith notes that the start of production will not mean the facility will be complete by 2024. The battery joint venture will come online sometime in 2025, he says.

“Once up to full capacity, the metaplant has the capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles a year,” Smith says. “If the demand dictates, there is room to expand the facility to produce 500,000 vehicles.”

At full employment, Smith says there will be 8,500 Hyundai Motor Group employees onsite at the plant.

Coming Soon: Rendering of Anovion Technologies’ new manufacturing plant in Decatur County, to be completed in 2025. | Photo credit: contributed

Suppliers Bring Jobs and Dollars

The manufacturing plants themselves represent only a portion of the investment and jobs created by their presence, however.

Making EVs requires a ready supply of parts from bumpers to tires and, of course, batteries. Growth in manufacturing attracts new suppliers and promotes expansion by existing suppliers, bringing jobs to areas that often need them the most. The majority of these jobs are outside the Atlanta-Fulton County area, says Brigman. “We celebrate every time we land a project in a community. We want people to be able to live in the community they want to be in. Communities are instrumental in helping us recruit the projects,” she says.

Recent supplier announcements around the state include the following:

• A new manufacturing facility by Hwashin – a Tier-1 supplier that makes chassis and body parts for entities such as Hyundai Motor Group, Kia and international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) – will bring over 460 new jobs and more than $176 million in investment to Dublin and Laurens County. The new facility is scheduled to begin production in late 2025.
• A $96 million investment by Seoyon E-Hwa will create 740 new direct and indirect jobs in Chatham County. Seoyon E-Hwa’s new manufacturing facility, located at the Savannah Chatham Manufacturing Center, will produce automotive interior parts such as door trims, headlining and tailgate trims. Production is expected to begin in October 2024.
• DAS Corp., which designs and makes seating systems, safety seating components and seating structures, is building a new manufacturing facility, which will create 300 new jobs and generate more than $35 million in investment in Candler Country. DAS is a key supplier for Kia Georgia and Hyundai.
• A new $30 million manufacturing plant by Doowon Climate Control America, Inc. will create 200 new jobs in Candler County. Doowon Group designs and makes automotive climate control systems for EVs and traditional vehicles. The company will be a key supplier for Kia Georgia and Hyundai. The new manufacturing facility will be in the Metter-Candler County I-16 Industrial Park.
• A new manufacturing facility announced by Anovion Technologies will create more than 400 jobs and over $800 million in investment in Decatur County. Anovion is a supplier of synthetic graphic anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Production is expected to start in 2025.
• A new manufacturing facility by Woory Industrial Co., Ltd. will create more than 130 new jobs and an estimated $18 million in investment in Dublin-Laurens County. The facility, the company’s first in the U.S., will produce electrical heaters, control units, and actuators for both EV and traditional carmakers in North America.

“…We have the reputation as a very business-friendly environment. Our logistics network, which means our rail, our airport and our port, is absolutely critical to our growth.” Kristi Brigman, deputy commissioner of global commerce, Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Location and Workforce Training

Business-Friendly: Kristi Brigman, deputy commissioner of global commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. | Photo credit: Brandon Clifton

So why are EV manufacturers choosing Georgia? There is a list of reasons, including infrastructure and logistics, the state’s much-lauded Quick Start program, and yes, incentives. But Brigman says that the record-breaking run as the “top state to do business” is well deserved.

“At the top of that list is that we have the reputation as a very business-friendly environment,” says Brigman. “Our logistics network, which means our rail, our airport and our port, is absolutely critical to our growth.”

While Georgia also offers tax incentives competitive with those of other states, Smith says that for Hyundai, tax incentives were “not as much of a deciding factor as one might assume. In fact, other states offered us more incentives, but they didn’t have the combination of geographic position and port and a site that was already earmarked for a project our size.”

Hyundai was drawn to Georgia’s skilled workforce – available in large part due to Georgia Quick Start, Georgia’s internationally acclaimed workforce training program that provides customized training free-of-charge to qualified new, expanding and existing businesses. A division of the Technical College System of Georgia, Quick Start has more than 50 years of experience in automotive-related advanced manufacturing, working with a wide range of companies including Kia, Toya Tire, Kumho Tire, Hyundai Powertech and Hyundai Motor Group, specializing in automotive transmissions.

Groundbreaking for the Quick Start Hyundai Mobility Training Center in Bryan County. | Photo credit: contributed

In February, Georgia Quick Start broke ground on the first training center in Georgia dedicated exclusively to the EV market. Located on state property adjacent to the metaplant near Ellabell, the center will train employees for Hyundai as well as affiliate companies such as Mobis, Glovis and Transys.

Since its inception Georgia Quick Start has not only facilitated the establishment of new companies and industries in Georgia but has played an important role when those companies planned expansions, according to Brigman. Such projects, she says, have put Georgia on the map as an innovator in both electric vehicles and workforce training.