From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010 4:20 PM
Subject: What the governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about Today
Monday, September 20, 2010
 
Governor Celebrates Latest Addition to Michigan’s Growing Advanced Battery Industry
 
The governor today said Magna E-Car Systems is the 17th and most recent company to join Michigan’s growing advanced battery industry.  The company held a grand opening today in Auburn Hills for its state-of-the-art testing and development center for hybrid and electric vehicles and the advanced batteries that power them.
 
At the 82,000-square-foot facility, approximately 200 employees work in the areas of cells and battery packs, hybrid and electric vehicle components and complete hybrid and electric vehicle systems.  Magna E-Car Systems manufactures products for the Ford Focus battery electric vehicle, a Volvo hybrid program, powertrain controllers for General Motors and e-bike battery management units for Bionx, a developer and manufacturer of electric propulsion systems for bicycles.
 
Key messages:
 
•  Just over a year ago, advanced batteries were being manufactured only in Asia.  Now we’re making them in Michigan.
 
•  Clean energy manufacturing, such as advanced batteries, is one of the economic sectors we’ve been working to grow to diversify the state’s economy and create jobs.  The 17 advanced battery companies in Michigan are projected to create more than 63,000 jobs in the state over the next decade.
 
•  Today’s celebration is another positive result of the public and private sectors collaborating to bring new investment and jobs to our state and nation.  In August 2009, Magna E-Car Systems was among 12 Michigan projects to receive U.S. Department of Energy grants funded by the Recovery Act to support advanced battery and electric vehicle manufacturing and development.  Combined, the 12 Michigan projects were awarded $1.35 billion — more than all other states combined.
 
•  The Department of Energy grants, combined with Michigan’s first-in-the-nation tax credits that encourage companies to develop and manufacture advanced batteries and commercialize advanced battery technologies in Michigan, have generated an entire new industry in our state that didn’t exist a year ago. 
 
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