If the true goal of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was to bring manufacturing back to the US, you can hardly argue with its results. Almost every week, there’s news of carmakers and electronics firms investing millions — if not billions — into new US supply chain manufacturing, with even more on the way. One of those projects is a new battery anode factory from Sicona Battery Technologies, and our friends at Bechtel have been tasked with carrying out an engineering study for the new plant.
“Bechtel will help Sicona deliver a long-lasting positive impact on the electric vehicle revolution,” said Catherine Hunt Ryan, President of Manufacturing & Technology at Bechtel. “Making batteries is a complex process. Bechtel is a trusted partner to deliver capital programs so that our customers can focus on evolving and deploying their technology.”
Of course, Bechtel hasn’t always been an environmental darling. Globally, Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals has nearly $66 billion in active projects drilling for, refining, and transporting oil and oil-based products. Still, this push into the EV space isn’t recent greenwashing, either. As far back as 2013, when Cleantechnica first started following these things, the company was one of the only large, multinational, general engineering companies to be listed among the top solar energy producers (it was number 3, in fact). Back in 2017, also, the company was cited for its work in developing microgrids for temporary US military installations.
“It’s complicated,” in other words — but there’s no questioning the company’s engineering chops. To that end, the new engineering study will see Bechtel assess what’s needed to actually build out the Sicona Battery plant — with an emphasis on optimizing manufacturing area designs, design requirements, utilities, equipment, materials, and developing a project cost estimate. Sicona, for its part, seems eager to bring on Bechtel.
“Due to significant interest in our materials from North American automotive companies, we are focusing our efforts on building Sicona’s first commercial-scale manufacturing plant in the United States,” said Christiaan Jordaan, CEO and founder of Sicona. “We are excited to work with Bechtel to make our first US plant a reality.”
Source | Images: Bechtel.
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