After more than a decade of site work, hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local investment, and the loss of several big prospects, the Berry Hill megasite in Pittsylvania County has landed what promises to be the biggest economic development project in the region’s history.
Tennessee-based Microporous, which manufactures components for electric vehicle batteries, will bring at least $1.3 billion of investment and more than 2,000 jobs to the area, according to a Wednesday announcement by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. These jobs will have an average yearly wage of about $60,000.
Despite its size, the Microporous project won’t take up the largest pad at the megasite. The company will build on a 212-acre lot, which is actually one of the megasite’s smallest pads, said Matt Rowe, Pittsylvania County’s economic development director. The largest graded pad is about 2,100 acres, Rowe said.
The company will develop two phases of the project at the site, each with a 500,000-square-foot facility. Another lot at Berry Hill is expected to be under development for a future expansion, according to a news release about the project.
The announcement is “a huge affirmation of the original vision” of the Berry Hill megasite, Youngkin said in an interview after Wednesday’s groundbreaking event.
“It also is a starting point of a major expansion,” he said. “Microporous is not only making a statement for their future but for the region’s future.”
Microporous selected Virginia over North Carolina for this project, according to the news release.
The Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill has seen more than $200 million through public and private investment since 2008 and has been a top contender in several other high-profile projects.
At 3,528 acres, it’s the largest industrial site in Virginia and one of the largest in the Southeastern U.S.
It’s jointly owned by Danville and Pittsylvania County, an area that has more industrial sites ready for development than anywhere else in Virginia.
“This is a historic day for Danville–Pittsylvania County,” said City Councilman Lee Vogler. “So many folks worked to make this a reality.” 
Introducing Microporous to Southside
The region’s relationship with Microporous began last year, while Vogler was serving as chairman of the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facilities Authority, he said.
The company’s interest in the megasite was first reported in November 2023, when the U.S. Department of Energy said it would give Microporous $100 million to build a plant in Virginia.
Microporous manufactures lithium-ion battery separators used in electric vehicles, which the Energy Department said would help secure domestic manufacturing of a market currently dominated by China.
“This is an American company, using American technology that will hire American workers and supply American companies,” Youngkin said.
Lithium-ion batteries are more efficient and longer-lasting than lead-acid batteries, but they’re also more expensive.
A battery separator creates a barrier between the positive and negative sides of a battery to prevent short circuits.
John Reeves, CEO of Microporous, said in a 2023 interview that the growing market for electric vehicles is increasing demand for battery separators.
“Every EV’s going to have battery separators,” Reeves said. “They need to be made in the U.S. We’ve got to fill that demand.”
The company has about 300 employees and plans to add 2,015 more through the Pittsylvania County location.
Reeves said Danville-Pittsylvania County residents will be sought after for these jobs. Microporous launched a website Wednesday to advertise openings.
An exact figure for pay is hard to nail down, Reeves said, because wages will change with specific jobs.
“A round number would be about $60,000 per year, and then a full palette of benefits,” he said.
Microporous hopes to be fully operational by the end of 2026, Reeves said, with construction potentially starting as early as April 2025. 
A long time coming
Officials from Danville and Pittsylvania County have been working together to attract a large developer to the site for years.
The land was cobbled together from other properties that the city and county acquired, and it has been graded, developed and prepared with infrastructure in the 16 years since it was purchased.
In 2023, it received a Tier 5 designation from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, which means that there is enough graded land and infrastructure for the site to be considered shovel-ready.
The city and county also jointly undertook a connector road project to improve access to the site.
The 2.4-mile road, a $33.5 million project that was completed over a year and a half, was unveiled Tuesday and named after two local elected officials: Sherman Saunders, a Danville City Council member and former mayor, and the late Coy Harville, a former member of the Pittsylvania Board of Supervisors.
The road provides direct access to U.S. 58 and U.S. 29, with no weight restrictions for trucks.
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sheppard Miller said that the megasite has “everything a major industry needs,” listing power, water sewer, natural gas, railway, and now direct road access.
“You can build the best possible facility for industry,” Miller said at the Tuesday event. “You can have all the bells and whistles. But if you don’t have access to the transportation necessary to support it, it will wither on the vine. We now have not only a world-class megasite, but a robust transportation network to support it.”
The new road will enable the site to handle traffic from an anticipated 5,250 jobs, Catherine McGhee, chief deputy commissioner with VDOT, said at the Tuesday event.
This project is the latest in a series of development efforts to market the megasite to industrial developers.
Not being shovel-ready in the past cost the site some big opportunities. But so did other factors, including politics and geography.
In May 2022, a $5.5 billion Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant went to a site in Savannah, Georgia, because it was more developed than Berry Hill.
In January 2023, Gov. Glenn Youngkin pulled the site out of consideration for a Ford Motor Co. battery plant facility due to concerns about Chinese government influence and the possibility that federal tax incentives would benefit a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
And in March 2023, chemical manufacturer Albemarle Corp. chose a site in Chester County, South Carolina, for a lithium plant because it was closer to the company’s main facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.
To encourage Microporous to locate at Berry Hill, the city, county and state created a package of incentives. The company will be eligible for a special appropriation of up to $60.6 million approved by the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission.
The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission also approved up to $25 million in low-interest financing to bring major natural gas service to the project. The Tobacco Commission has invested nearly $35 million in the megasite since 2008.
The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program will provide support for Microporous’ job creation.
This is in exchange for investments of at least $1.3 billion and the creation of 2,015 full-time jobs with a base yearly wage of about $60,000.
More on the megasite: A dozen reasons why Microporous announcement is big 
