CHESTER, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – Business Facilities Magazine has announced the winners of their 2023 Deals of the Year awards.
There were 24 total winners across the country, two are from South Carolina, Chester County was selected as one of the Deal of the Year Impact Award Winners for EV Supplier and Chemical Processing for the Albemarle Corporation project.
Each year the Business Facilities publication will recognize economic development organizations for their work in securing significant corporate relocation, expansion, or retention projects.
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Here’s more from the official press release:
Business Facilities magazine recently announced the winners of their 2023 Deals of the Year awards. Of the twenty-four winners, only two were from South Carolina. The Scout Motors project in Richland County was named the Silver Deal of the Year, while Chester County was selected as one of the Deal of the Year Impact Award for EV Supplier/Chemical Processing for the Albemarle Corporation project.
In March 2023 Albemarle Corporation announced their plans to invest $1.3 billion in capital investment and create 307 jobs to build a new lithium hydroxide processing plant. All major automotive companies have announced their intention to phase out the internal combustion engine and shift to electric vehicles (EV). This has led to massive investment in EV assembly plants and the EV supply chain both nationally and in South Carolina. Lithium hydroxide is a base ingredient for lithium-ion batteries. Completion of phase 1 of their Richburg plant is targeted for 2026 and expected to produce 50,000 metric tons of battery grade lithium hydroxide a year.
“We are delighted to be recognized as one of Business Facilities’ 2023 Deal of the Year Impact Award winners,” said Robert Long, Director of Chester County Economic Development. “The Albemarle Corporation project will truly make an impact on the domestic supply of lithium hydroxide that is greatly needed for the automotive sector to ramp up production of electric vehicles.”
“We worked with Global Location Strategies and Albemarle Corporation for eleven months prior to their announcement in March 2023,” said Kris Phillips, Assistant Director of Chester County Economic Development. “This was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects of my career. I was most impressed by Albemarle’s commitment to the environment and involvement in the communities where they are located.”
“Our Chester County Council went above and beyond to support the Albemarle project,” said Brian Hester, County Administrator for Chester County. “They have commenced the wetlands permitting process, and we look forward to the next steps of this exciting project.”
