Automotive supplier ElringKlinger AG is investing $40.3 million to establish operations in Easley, S.C., to create a U.S. battery development and manufacturing center.
The new 226,000-square-foot facility will manufacture electric battery cell contacting systems, which connect the individual cells of a battery pack, making the energy available to the drive system.
The company will "initially ramp up the production of cell-contacting systems which also include some on-site manufactured plastic components," Jens Winter, vice president of strategic communication and sustainability, told Plastics News in an email. "There will also be equipment for injection molding of PC/ABS with multi-cavity molds installed ... dedicated assembly equipment with in-line wash processes, laser welding and hot stamping [and] 1,600-ton injection mold machines and 500-ton stamping presses."
The new operation will become the company's main U.S. hub for developing and manufacturing battery products, a June 24 news release said.
The company will "initially ramp up the production of cell-contacting systems which also include some on-site manufactured plastic components," Winter said. "There will also be equipment for injection molding of PC/ABS with multi-cavity molds installed ... dedicated assembly equipment with in-line wash processes, laser welding and hot stamping [and] 1,600-ton injection mold machines and 500-ton stamping presses."
"The American market generally offers great potential for battery technology applications," ElringKlinger CEO Thomas Jessulat said in the release. "When it comes to unlocking this potential, the U.S. state of South Carolina is an optimal starting point for establishing the group's Battery Center Americas."
"Proximity to our customers is important to us," Winter said. "The new location is within a 300-mile radius of all major OEMs in the southern U.S. region, … South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia."
The investment is expected to create 115 new jobs in the region. Operations are expected to begin in mid-2025.
"ElringKlinger … supplies the automotive industry with plastic parts for the drives of all types as well as for the chassis," Winter said. "Plastic products play a pivotal role for the battery housing and the underbody protection of the battery and could be placed there in the future."
Dettingen an der Erms, Germany-based ElringKlinger serves the electrification and hydrogen mobility markets by focusing on battery and fuel cell technology, related components and assemblies for engines, and the chassis of a car, including plastic housing and metallic stamped and molded parts. The company operates 44 manufacturing sites globally.