Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read October 2022— Ohio’s new Honda EV battery plant is the latest win for the state as industries continue to reshore U.S. operations and invest locally. In the case of Ohio, it’s a return to its industrial roots.
“Ohio is now reestablishing itself as a world leader in manufacturing and research and development by attracting these projects but by also focusing on technical training for students at career techs and incumbent workers. We are getting back to our roots – we know how to grow things and make things – it is in our DNA,” Eric Phillips, Marysville-Union County Economic Development Director and CEO of the Union County Chamber of Commerce, told Invest: when asked for a comment.
Last week, Honda announced that it would be making a $4.4 billion investment in Ohio. Working in partnership with LG Energy Solution, a leading manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, the two have launched a joint venture to create a new EV battery plant in Fayette County, Ohio. Other communities across the region will begin to see the retooling of already present automotive plants in the communities of Marysville, East Lincoln, and Anna. The battery plant alone is estimated to cost $3.5 billion, with plant renovations and retooling to make up an additional $700 million, with projections estimating the full price tag at $4.4 billion.
“The EV battery plant in Fayette County will support Honda’s move into EV production at its three manufacturing plants (Marysville, East Liberty, and Anna) realizing $700 million of investment for retooling. It sets the stage for Ohio to be a world leader in battery and EV production. For Marysville and the Columbus region, it means that Honda has taken another bet on us to produce the workforce and the necessary infrastructure to support its EV transformation,” Phillips added.
The joint venture will create 2,200 jobs, pending final government approvals, according to the press release and help make Ohio a global leader in the green energy transition. While the investment is massive in scale, it should not come as a surprise – Honda has had long-standing operations in Ohio beginning in the 1970s, when then Gov. Jim Rhodes traveled to Japan to examine which companies were considering a U.S. expansion, meeting Honda founder Soichiro Honda along the way. The rest, Phillips explained, was history.
Since the first plant opened in Marysville in 1979, Honda has grown its presence from 64 original employees to about 16,000 jobs and manufactures 20 million cars. Japanese companies have generated 70,000 jobs in the state, second only to California, according to Phillips.
The impact of global uncertainty and frayed global supply chains, as well as domestic legislation has led to the reshoring of industries in the United States. The USMCA trade deal, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS Act each have stipulations that require companies to manufacture or source products locally in the country. The results are wins for U.S. manufacturers, such as in the case of chipmaker Intel’s own multibillion investments in Ohio’s Licking County.
The retooling of the already established auto plants at Marysville, East Liberty and Anna will generate an additional 300 jobs, according to an Oct. 11 press release. “Honda is proud of our history in Ohio, where our U.S. manufacturing operations began more than four decades ago. Now, as we expand Honda’s partnership with Ohio, we are investing in a workforce that will create the power source for our future Honda and Acura electric vehicles,” said Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Fayette County, the site of the new EV battery plant, is home to 28,000 residents, with top-rated industrial parks – including the largest in the state with the 1,660-acre MidWest Mega Commerce Center – that made it an attractive site for Honda’s new operations. The plant will be located in the center of the Cincinnati-Dayton-Columbus triangle, about an hour’s commute from Cincinnati and 40 minutes south of Columbus.
The company anticipates its first fully electric vehicles to roll off the production line in 2026, with Honda already having produced over 100,000 hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles last year.
For more information, visit:
