Microporous, a manufacturer of battery separators, will invest $1.35 billion to establish a new manufacturing facility in Pittsylvania County. The company will develop two phases of the project on Lot 1 of the Southern Virginia Megasite, each facility phase being approximately 500,000 square feet. Lot 2 of the Megasite is anticipated to be under consideration for future expansion. This project will create 2,015 new jobs. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina for the project.
Microporous, headquartered in Piney Flats, Tennessee, is a manufacturer, developer, and marketer of battery separators and engineered materials. The company plans to build on its core strength of lead battery separators, expanding into battery separators for lithium-ion batteries which are used in electric vehicle, energy storage systems, industrial, and consumer electronics applications.
Separators are a mission-critical component in lead-acid batteries. For example, the company’s polyethylene, rubber, and hybrid separators are used by battery manufacturers for applications like Starting Lighting and Ignition (SLI) batteries for automobiles and trucks, golf car batteries, forklift batteries, and industrial standby power. SLI batteries provide the short power burst used to start an engine and power a vehicle’s lights and ignition system.
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The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facility Authority, Pittsylvania County, the City of Danville, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission (MEI Commission) to secure the project for Virginia.
Microporous will be eligible to receive an MEI Commission-approved special appropriation of up to $60.6 million based on an investment of more than $1.3 billion and the creation of jobs estimated to be in excess of 2,000, subject to approval by the Virginia General Assembly.
The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, which has invested nearly $35 million in the Southern Virginia Megasite since 2008, approved up to $25 million in low-interest financing to bring major natural gas service to the project. Additionally, the company is eligible to apply for state grants from the The Port of Virginia.
Support for Microporous’ job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program. The program accelerates new facility startups through the direct delivery of recruitment and training services that are fully customized to a company’s unique products, processes, equipment, standards and culture. All program services are provided at no cost to qualified new and expanding companies as an incentive for job creation.
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