Lansing — Michigan’s economic development board on Tuesday approved $132 million in grants for electric vehicle and semiconductor businesses, with the largest portion of the money — roughly $120 million — going toward land acquisition and preparation at Ford Motor Co.’s planned Blue Oval Battery Park in Marshall.
Additionally, semiconductor manufacturer AyDeeKay in Auburn Hills will receive a $10 million grant for next generation semiconductors and software platforms and auto supplier BorgWarner, also in Auburn Hills, received nearly $2 million for electric vehicle development.
The $120.3 million Strategic Site Readiness Program grant for the Ford land is the first installment of roughly $630 million the Legislature appropriated to the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund in early March for land acquisition and preparation at the Marshall site.
The Michigan Strategic Fund’s board approved the grant Tuesday for the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance to prepare the site for Ford and other potential suppliers down the line. Ford’s initial battery facility is expected to use about 950 acres of the planned 1,900-acre site.
Ford itself already has been approved for a $210 million Critical Industry Program grant that was transferred through the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month. Senate Appropriations has yet to sign off on the grant. The company also has been approved for tax abatements totaling roughly $772 million in reduced real and personal property taxes over the next 15 years.
Ford officials announced in February that the company expects to invest $3.5 billion to construct the battery plant, which will employ 2,500 people with the majority — about 1,900 — making $20 an hour. Ford will license technology from China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, the world’s leading LFP battery maker.
More:Average pay at Ford’s Marshall battery plant would be $45,000 a year
The vote on the Ford funding Tuesday was preceded by nearly an hour of public comment criticizing the project for a lack of transparency, the destruction of agricultural land and the project’s links to China.
Robert Weiss, a Marshall resident originally from Flint, questioned why the state and local communities are using what’s largely agricultural land in Marshall when there are other abandoned industrial properties in Flint and elsewhere that could serve the same purpose.
“It absolutely breaks my heart to see something that could change the face of this town forever,” Weiss said.
Tim Boyko questioned how long Ford would stay committed to the area once state incentives are exhausted: “I’ve seen this play out. When the tax credits drive business decisions we often end up with a rush to develop. And we decide in haste and we repent in leisure. I think that’s what we’re setting ourselves up for.”
But Richard Lindsey, of the Marshall Township planning commission, argued there were years of available public hearings and opportunities for input regarding the master plan for the site. The bulk of the property has been zoned industrial for years, Lindsey said.
“I would wholeheartedly dispute any idea whatsoever that homeowners or property owners have been in any way forced into selling,” Lindsey said. “They have all signed agreements, they’ve all voluntarily signed.”
BorgWarner eyes expansion
Automotive supplier BorgWarner Inc. received a roughly $1.9 million Michigan Business Development Program grant to supplement a $20.6 million capital investment in Auburn Hills, Dearborn, Hazel Park and a yet-to-be-determined location in Metro Detroit.
The company of roughly 1,700 employees plans to add about 186 new jobs to accelerate its EV product development and testing. That project includes battery modules, packs and DC fast charging efforts. The company’s plans include a $5 million investment in Auburn Hills, $5 million in Dearborn and $10.6 million between its Hazel Park and still unnamed sites.
“BorgWarner is in the midst of embarking on a major transformation, along with the auto industry, going from combustion products to electric propulsion,” said Bill Kregel, vice president of government affairs for BorgWarner. “We call that initiative Charging Forward.
“…This project is a key step in that Charging Forward initiative because it will grow our existing EV product portfolio and enhance our R&D capabilities in Michigan,” Kregel added.
BorgWarner told the state it was considering competing sites in Indiana, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina and California — all of which were offering economic development assistance.
“While the company is attracted to expanding in Michigan due to the synergy and ease of collaboration it would create with its North American headquarters being located in Auburn Hills, incentive assistance is necessary to ensure the project moves forward in Michigan,” the state said in a briefing memo on the project.
AyDeeKay gets $10M grant
The board also voted to distribute a roughly $10 million business development grant to AyDeeKay, a California-based company that designs semiconductors and software platforms and is looking to expand its “design, development and testing capacity.”
AyDeeKay, which does business as Indie Semiconductor, wants to expand its Auburn Hills location as part of a $12.5 million expansion that is expected to create up to 180 new jobs.
AyDeeKay has expansion options in Texas, California and Massachusetts and is in discussion with “other midwestern states” that are pursuing the project. If Michigan lands the project, it would represent the first semiconductor firm “to create and expand an integrated circuit design team” in Michigan.
“The applicant expects difficulties attracting and retaining the workforce associated with the project in Michigan,” a briefing memo said. “Today, more than 70% of the company’s workforce designing semiconductors is located outside the U.S. because of these same hurdles.”
Joseph Damato, executive vice president for system solutions at Indie Semiconductor, said the company plans to develop “new and stronger” relationships with academia to ensure trained labor is available for the project.
“This is the first opportunity to have a design center like this effectively in the Midwest,” Damato told board members.
The board also amended a $15 million loan agreement with Our Next Energy to accommodate the pending approval by the Legislature of a $200 million Critical Industry Program grant. ONE, located in Van Buren Township and Novi, plans to invest about $1.6 billion to develop and manufacture longer-lasting battery packs for electric vehicles.
Our Next Energy also is expected to receive a $21.7 million State Essential Services Assessment Exemption related to about $986.3 million in eligible personal property investment at the facility.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com