Microporous is “moving ahead” and on time with its project in Pittsylvania County, said company President Doug Rich, after questions arose about how an executive order might affect federal grant money slated for the project.
“We haven’t slowed down at all,” Rich said Tuesday at the Danville-Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. “We’ve got the grant.”
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed the “Unleashing American Energy” order, which froze the disbursement of federal funds to energy-related projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law).
During the Biden administration, Microporous was chosen to receive $100 million to build a plant in Pittsylvania County that will manufacture lithium-ion battery separators for electric vehicles.
The money, announced alongside the project in November, is coming from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing and Recycling grant program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The company, based in Tennessee, is the first tenant at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill. This project is the largest economic development announcement in the region’s history and is expected to bring $1.3 billion in investment and create over 2,000 jobs.
In January, Microporous spokesperson Brad Reed said that the project does not depend on federal funding.
“However, Federal funding (or lack of) can impact timing,” he said in an email at the time, adding that the company would know more in April, after the grant award project’s initiation date.
Rich said that timing is on schedule in an interview Tuesday, after a Danville-Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce event that included a panel on the Microporous project.
During a call with reporters earlier this month, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the money had been held up by the Trump administration and had not yet arrived. He said he’d gotten assurance from the energy secretary that it would be released soon.
At the chamber event Tuesday, Rich and state and local economic development officials discussed the process of developing the megasite, attracting Microporous as a tenant and what the future holds.
Now that it is investing in the Danville-Pittsylvania area, Microporous wants to be a strong community partner, Rich said.
The company has created a community benefits advocacy group composed of both residents and Microporous employees. Microporous plans to put $500,000 per year towards various community initiatives, which will be identified by the group.
Corrie Bobe, economic development director for Danville, said that this plan will focus on initiatives such as workforce development and recruitment, which include housing, transportation and child care.
“It’s not every day that you have an investment of $500,000 each year to help move the needs of the community forward,” Bobe said during the panel discussion.
More information will be coming about how local organizations can participate in the plan, she said.
“We intend on being here for a long period of time, it’s a significant investment, we will be employing a lot of people, and we want to be an upstanding member of the community,” Rich said.
