Epsilon Advanced Materials, a global provider of synthetic graphite used in electric vehicle batteries, announced it will invest $649.9 million in a new manufacturing facility outside of Wilmington, North Carolina. The project, which will create 500 jobs in Brunswick County, will be one of the largest economic development announcements in the Southeast part of the state in the past 10 years and the largest-ever investment in North Carolina by a company from India.
“Epsilon Advanced Materials investment in North Carolina shows that our state is continually a top location for the electric vehicle and battery sector and a leader in the clean energy economy,” said Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC). “We are proud our accessible infrastructure, highly educated workforce, and state and local partnerships have attracted another innovative company such as Epsilon Advance Materials.”
Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Epsilon Advanced Materials was founded in 2018 to develop and manufacture innovative, high-performance and quality graphite for anode components of lithium-ion batteries (LiB). Through this new facility, Epsilon Advanced Materials will be making graphite for the anode components for these batteries, enabling the U.S. to begin producing graphite overall. It is the first India company to have an EV battery manufacturing facility in the U.S. and the North Carolina project will be the first location for the company in North America. The new facility will be located at the Mid-Atlantic Industrial Rail Park, just outside of Wilmington, and will be able to support two companies producing EV batteries.
Although wages will vary depending on the position, the average salary for the new positions will be $52,264. The current average wage in Brunswick County is $46,464. The EDPNC assisted the project by working with Epsilon Advanced Materials throughout the selection process working closely with the company’s team and state and local entities.
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina would like to recognize the North Carolina Department of Commerce as well as other key partners involved in this project, including the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Ports Authority, North Carolina Department of Transportation and Rail Division, the North Carolina Railroad Company, CSX, Duke Energy, the GoldenLEAF Foundation, Brunswick County, and Brunswick Business & Industry Development.