A Charlotte green technology company this morning was awarded as much as $11.7 million in state and local incentives for adding 250 jobs at its lithium ion battery plant in Cabarrus County.
The Economic Investment Committee at the N.C. Commerce Department unanimously approved the incentive award to Celgard in exchange for creating manufacturing jobs that pay an average wage of $37,912, above the county average. Gov. Bev Perdue is scheduled to make the jobs announcement at 10 a.m. in Concord, where Celgard is opening its facility to make membranes used in lithium-ion batteries.
Public officials are touting the Celgard expansion as the kind of development that will help establish North Carolina as a green energy hub. U.S Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, N.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco and other officials are expected to join Perdue at the facility's dedication ceremony.
Celgard, a division of the Charlotte-based Polypore International, now stands to receive as much as $21 million in state and local incentives for adding 539 jobs at the plant. The company qualified for up to $9.2 million in grants and incentives last year for a previous expansion at the Concord factory just north of Charlotte and about 150 miles west of Raleigh.
Celgard, a Charlotte company that's become a darling of politicians for its green technology work and job creation, will get a little more love on Monday morning.
