By Greg Ryan
Battery maker Factorial Inc. formally opened a 67,000-square-foot facility to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles in Methuen on Monday. The deal was the latest in a series of real estate expansions locally for clean energy companies.
Democrats in Washington have sought to encourage the domestic production of EV batteries by including financial incentives for the equipment as part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. As a result, automakers are seeking out American-made batteries for their vehicles.
Woburn-based Factorial raised a $200 million Series D round in early 2022 that was led by a pair of automakers, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis NV, parent of Chrysler. In addition to the new facility and its Woburn headquarters, the company has a research-and-development site in Billerica.
The Methuen facility, located at 501 Griffin Brook Drive, will “progress our mission to commercialize solid-state batteries,” Factorial CEO Siyu Huang said in a statement.
Factorial’s solid-state battery technology serves as an alternative to the better-known lithium-ion variety. The company expects to have the largest assembly line for solid-state batteries in the U.S.
Factorial marked the opening with a ceremony featuring Gov. Maura Healey, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Secretary Rebecca Tepper and other public officials. A state panel approved a $680,000 tax credit in connection with the Methuen facility last year, in exchange for a pledge to create at least 136 jobs at the site, according to state records. The city of Methuen approved a tax increment financing agreement valued at more than $2 million, records show.
The company is investing $50 million in the facility.
Other clean energy companies growing their local operations include “green hydrogen” firm Electric Hydrogen and battery recycling tech provider Ascend Elements, which leased large facilities in Devens, as well as battery maker Form Energy, which is expanding in Somerville.