Toyota unveiled its new battery research facility in Washtenaw County’s York Township Thursday.
The $50 million, 30,000-square-foot Toyota Battery Center will be the automaker's primary testing facility in North America.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI 6) says investments like this one from Toyota will help keep out Chinese influence in electric vehicle technology.
The battery center, Dingell said, “is a tangible representation of what it means to keep Michigan at the cutting edge of innovation.”
“This facility is creating good-paying high-tech jobs, supporting American manufacturing, and ensuring that the next generation of automotive innovation happens right here in Michigan,” said Dingell.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer echoed those sentiments.
“This state-of-the-art facility will develop, test, and improve the batteries powering the next generation of vehicles,” Whitmer said.
Toyota will open the facility to the University of Michigan Electric Vehicle Center. Whitmer thinks that will help keep graduates from leaving the state.
“Researchers and students will work alongside industry experts to research cutting-edge technology, and this partnership will prepare students to tackle the biggest challenges of the future, right here at home,” Whitmer said.
In all, Toyota employs 2,000 people on the campus east of Saline. The battery center there will increase the number of jobs, but Toyota’s biggest battery investment is in North Carolina.
The company says it has invested nearly $14 billion in a battery production facility there, with plans for more than 5,000 jobs.
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