![]() ![]() Now, Kentucky officials say they need more information from the company about the federal decision before they would move forward with the incentives deal they preliminarily approved. The company has additional locations in Florida and Colorado, and internationally in China, England and Germany. It would be about 30 miles (48 kilometers) across the state border from the Microvast facility being built in Clarksville, Tennessee. Andy Beshear’s administration announced the project, which was expected to include a $504 million investment from the company and create 562 full-time jobs at a new Hopkinsville facility, which was expected to be finished by March 2025. The company has also sought to fight back against claims of inappropriate Chinese influence. A slideshow for an investors presentation days after news of the federal denial broke late last month did not mention Kentucky or the loan. A company spokesperson did not respond to emails asking if plans for a facility there were still moving forward. It’s unclear if the company will still try to build out the project in Kentucky. The department did not offer a reason for cutting off talks. Yang Wu, Microvast’s founder and CEO, said the company was surprised by the Energy Department’s decision against awarding the loan, which would fuel plans for a Kentucky facility focused on a new technology for batteries called polyaramid separator. The company is building battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee and was in talks with the Energy Department for a $200 million grant funded through the 2021 infrastructure law. Texas-based Microvast was one of 20 companies to win preliminary grants totaling $2.8 billion to boost the domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles. Department of Energy abruptly rejected a $200 million loan for the project after some congressional Republicans argued the firm has improper ties to China. (AP) - Kentucky officials say they won’t start paying out $21 million in economic incentives for a proposed electric vehicle battery facility until the company further explains why the U.S. ![]()
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