MOSES LAKE, Wash — A battery materials company has purchased a 600,000-square-foot facility in Moses Lake, Washington, to be used to manufacture lithium-ion anode battery materials for the automotive and cell phone industries.
Sila, based in Alameda, California, said the facility will bring hundreds of new jobs to the central Washington town. The company said it was drawn by the region's abundant hydropower.
Sila is making an initial investment to deliver silicon-based anode production sufficient to power batteries in 100,000 to 500,000 electric vehicles and 500 million mobile phones annually.
“Sila is delivering proven next-generation anode materials today. Our new Washington state plant builds on that momentum offering the manufacturing capacity to meet the needs of our auto partners on their way to a fully electric future," Sila Co-founder and CEO Gene Berdichevsky said in a statement.
Production lines at the facility will begin in the second half of 2024 and reach full production in the first half of 2025. The Moses Lake site has the potential for exponential growth that could power 2 million to 10 million electric vehicles per year, the company said.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the state is “excited that Sila is investing here.”
“Our energy independence and economic prosperity are tied to our ability to develop and manufacture new clean energy technologies here on American soil,” Inslee said in a statement. “I’m proud that Washington state has been a leader on this issue and even prouder that innovative companies like Sila come here to advance these clean energy solutions.”
