GRAND RAPIDS — Economic developers confirmed Friday that electric vehicle battery maker Gotion Inc. is planning a nearly $2.4 billion factory near Big Rapids, aiming to create 2,350 jobs in the next decade.
An application submitted to the state Thursday by The Right Place — West Michigan’s economic development agency — seeks approval for a 30-year, property tax-free Renaissance Zone on 523 acres spanning Big Rapids Township, Green Township and Mecosta County.
Creation of the Renaissance Zone would save Gotion, a Chinese subsidiary, an estimated $13 million in property taxes annually, according to the application.
Township and county leaders will vote on the request at a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley’s Fremont, Calif., Gotion makes electronics, battery packs and energy storage technology for electric vehicles at locations in Ohio, China, Japan, Singapore and Germany.
Volkswagen is the company’s largest shareholder, with a 26.5 percent stake.
The proposed facility in Big Rapids would primarily make energy storage components — batteries — according to The Right Place application.
Gotion chose the area over competing sites in Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Kentucky.
For the development — dubbed “Project Elephant” in the application — Gotion would invest $2.36 billion in land improvements, buildings, machinery and equipment across four phases. The project aims to create 2,350 high-tech jobs at an average annual wage of $61,995 by the end of phase four, with hiring starting in June 2023 and wrapping at the end of 2031, according to the application.
If all goes according to plan, the company would be the largest employer in the area, a designation currently held by Ferris State University with about 1,400 workers.
