JACKSON COUNTY, Ga. — Thousands of high-tech jobs will soon be coming to Georgia, thanks to a new $1.7 billion battery plant.
SK Innovation, a South Korean developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, will begin construction this year.
The project is being called the "largest single investment and job-creating project in Georgia's history" and will create 2,000 new jobs.
The plant will cover almost 300 acres along Interstate 85 in Commerce and will build batteries that power up to 250,000 cars each year.
Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach went to the groundbreaking ceremony in Jackson County, where Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross also attended.
Kemp started meeting with SK last fall after his election in hopes of luring them to Georgia.
"We have a great opportunity for other manufactures and suppliers to the company to come with them, which just creating good opportunities down the line," Kemp told Gehlbach.
The Governor @BrianKempGA joined by US Secretary of Commerce for groundbreaking in Jackson County for SK Battery plant w/ $1.7 Billion investment and 2,000 new jobs pic.twitter.com/gOCIAL8dDl
— Steve Gehlbach (@SteveGWSB) March 19, 2019
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Part of the reason SK picked the location in Georgia is because of its proximity to car manufacturers in the South.
To start, the company will supply the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. But Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and BMW all have plants across the South, all within hours of Commerce.
SK Innovations plans to invest up to $5 billion in Georgia over the next decade and jobs could also grow up to 5,000 or 6,000 during that time.
The plant will be up and running sometime in 2020.
Cox Media Group
