Saft Confirms Location For Lithium-ion battery factory In Florida

Following receipt of a $95 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and successful negotiations between Saft America Inc., the state of Florida, and the city of Jacksonville, construction will soon begin in Jacksonville for what Saft describes as the lithium-ion (Li-ion) factory of the future. The total estimated cost of the project is around $200 million, and it will bring roughly 279 jobs to the area during the next six years.

To be located at Cecil Commerce Center, Saft’s new facility will be a high-volume manufacturing plant building advanced Li-ion cells and batteries for military hybrid vehicles, aviation, smart grid support, broadband back-up power and energy storage for renewable energy.

Construction is scheduled to commence within the next few months and be completed before the end of 2010. The presence of this state-of-the-art manufacturing facility ensures that competitive battery solutions will be imminently available to the U.S. and world markets from the Jacksonville facility.

"We extend our thanks to the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, the Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership and Enterprise Florida for their dedication to bringing this project to fruition. Through this partnership between Saft, the city of Jacksonville, and the state of Florida, we are going to build an advanced factory of the future and bring many high-technology jobs to Jacksonville," said Thomas Alcide, President of Saft America, Inc.