Koura proposes a $800 million investment in Louisiana to establish EV battery supply chain anchor facilities

Koura, Orbia’s Fluorinated Solutions subsidiary, announced two expansion projects at its Louisiana factory that will complement America’s lithium-ion battery production supply chain, allowing domestic production of 1.7 million electric vehicles per year.

The first proposed project is to build a $400 million world-scale manufacturing plant to make LiPF6, a component that permits electricity to flow through lithium-ion batteries. According to Koura, the factory will generate 10,000 metric tonnes of LiPF6 per year.

The company has also suggested an extra $400 million investment to construct a second production unit capable of producing 40,000 metric tonnes of R-142b per year. R-142b is a major building block in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a critical binding agent in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries.

If the developments proceed as planned, Koura intends to create 100 direct new employees with an average annual salary of $80,000, while retaining 80 present ones. It also predicts that more than 2,000 construction jobs will be created during the peak construction of both sites. According to Louisiana Economic Development, the initiatives will create 283 indirect new employment, for a total of 383 new jobs.