“Go Michigan!” We didn’t hear them say it, but the team at A123Systems has likely become big fans of the state of Michigan. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has granted the Watertown, MA-based developer of advanced battery systems $100 million in tax credits to support its plans to open an R&D center and manufacturing plants in the Wolverine State, the company revealed today.
A123 announced that it has chosen to build one of its production plants in Livonia, MI, where the company will also house an R&D center for which it was granted $10 million last fall from the state of Michigan. This latest news comes on the heels of A123’s announcement yesterday that multi-industry giant General Electric (NYSE:[[ticker:GE]]) and other investors added $69 million to its coffers in large part to boost production of its advanced lithium-ion battery cells at facilities in Novi, MI, and Hopkinton, MA. Earlier this month, A123 landed a deal with a Michigan mainstay, Chrysler, to provide its battery systems for the Auburn Hills, MI-based automaker’s planned electric vehicles, the first of which are due out next year.
A123 first gained a stake in Michigan when it acquired Ann Arbor-based research and development firm T/J Technologies in 2006, according to the company. The T/J operation was later expanded with an automotive engineering group and now operates in the Novi facility.
A123, which is in registration for an initial public offering to raise up to $175 million, was founded in 2001 with nanophosphate lithium-ion battery technology licensed from MIT. The company has to date raised more than $300 million from investors.
