Sidney in running to land electric vehicle battery manufacturer

SIDNEY — Sidney could soon be adding about 1,200 new jobs. Ohio is in consideration to land an electric vehicle battery manufacturer.

“It’s a once in a generational type of development,” Andrew Bowsher, Sidney’s City Manager said. “It’s a huge, huge deal for the city, our community, Shelby County, and the region all together.”

The $900 million investment would come from a Chinese manufacturer of materials used in batteries that power electric vehicles and other products.

>> UPDATE: 14-year-old girl killed in Harrison Twp. crash Tuesday night; 2 others in critical condition

“With nearly a $1 billion capital investment in SEMCORP’s project, this would be the Dayton Development Coalition’s largest capital investment project ever,” Jeff Hoagland, President and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, said. “It will also be the state’s largest initial foreign investment ever. We look forward to finalizing this project and bringing jobs and investment to the region and state.”

On Monday, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved tax incentives for SEMCORP Manufacturing USA for a project that would create about 1,200 jobs in Sidney. The jobs have a payroll of $73 million.

The tax credits are worth an estimated $22.7 million.

“The approval of a tax credit is a multi-step, multi-jurisdiction process, and the project is contingent on incentives that still need to be considered and approved,” Matt Englehart, JobsOhio spokesperson, said.

SEMCORP is a large producer of separator film used in lithium-ion batteries. The company’s focus is on electric vehicles along with consumer electronics and energy storage systems.

“This project is critical to the U.S. supply chain as more OEMs shift away from the internal combustion engine supply chain and toward electric vehicle production,” Englehart said in a statement. “Ohio has a unique opportunity to lead in building a manufacturing and supply network that capitalizes on the fast growth in electric vehicles.”

>> New bipartisan effort to expand mental health access nationwide

Several of the businesses that surround the potential location for the Sidney plant play a significant factor in choosing the city as a possible location.

“SEMCORP looks forward to being a part of the strong electric vehicle (EV) supply chain in Ohio and the U.S. and the opportunity to invest in the hard-working people of the Dayton Region and Sidney,” Hoagland said in a statement.

“I think it was important,” Bowsher said. “I think it was something they were looking for right? They wanted to build those types of relationships with the corporations that are already here. There’s this synergy that’s happening on I-75 in general and Ohio.”

Bowsher added that the proximity to Detroit doesn’t hurt either.

It would be SEMCORP’s first North American manufacturing plant to support the electric vehicle battery market.

Ohio is competing with Texas for the new facility. If Sidney is selected it would have a far reaching impact and bring plenty of other business to the city.

“There have been housing developers that have reached out to us,” Bowsher said. “We certainly know that if we do land this company - and it is an if - if we are, we know that as a city we’re going to have to build housing.”

©2022 Cox Media Group