Michigan hosted a very special VIP, er, make that VP, today as Vice President Joe Biden celebrated the groundbreaking of a new Dow Kokam advanced battery plant in Midland.  He praised the plant as a solid step toward cutting back the country’s reliance on oil, and rebuilding Michigan’s manufacturing base.

The Dow Kokam story demonstrates what can be achieved when we have strong public-private partnerships and government can present a convincing business case to a particular company or even an entire industry such as advanced batteries.

Federal Department of Energy grants made possible by the Recovery Act, combined with Michigan’s first-in-the-nation battery tax credits, have generated an entire new industry in our state that didn’t exist a year ago.

Since last August, 16 companies representing the entire advanced battery and electric vehicle supply chain have begun operations in Michigan.  And these 16 companies are projected to create 62,000 good-paying jobs here in our state in the next decade.

{ 0 comments - Read and add your own }