In January, EnerG2 will open a new manufacturing plant in Albany, OR. EnerG2 received $21 million in stimulus funding last year as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s support of the electric vehicle industry and raised $14.5 million in venture capital investments. The Seattle based company will manufacture synthetic high-performance carbon electrode material, which is an important ingredient in ultracapacitor energy-storage devices that are used in electric and hybrid vehicles. Ultracapacitors, which depend on the performance of their materials, store and release more energy faster than conventional batteries.
The factory will be the world’s first facility dedicated to the commercial-scale production of high-performance carbon electrode material. The company is promising thirty five permanent positions at the new plant and Phil Souza, the vice president of manufacturing for EnerG2, states “our intent is to hire people who live in the area”. In addition to production jobs, EnerG2 estimates fifty temporary construction jobs will be created during the building of the plant. When complete, the plant will be recognized as a center of excellence in energy storage technologies not only in Oregon, but also in the larger Pacific Northwest region.
CATEGORIES: Community Sustainability Energy Transportation