Illinois honored as epicenter of growth; Gotion named Project of the Year and Clean Tech Project of the Year
Area Development, a leading site selection publication, named Illinois a 2024 Silver Shovel winner. The publication recognized Gotion’s $2 billion expansion project in Manteno, Illinois as a top manufacturing and clean tech project.
Area Development’s annual Shovel Awards honors states for their success in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs. Each year, the publication tracks project announcements to see which states are epicenters of growth.
Read an excerpt on Illinois from the magazine:
A highlight of the Silver Shovel earned by Illinois is a $2 billion EV battery project in Manteno, one of our Projects of the Year. Gotion is working on a gigafactory that’ll create 2,600 jobs and is, according to the governor, the state’s most significant new manufacturing investment in decades (its dollar total is more than a third of the overall value of all of Illinois’ biggest projects of the past year). Meanwhile, Walmart is spending more than a billion dollars on a high-tech, automated distribution center in Belvidere for perishables such as eggs, dairy, fresh produce, flowers and frozen food. In the agricultural hotspot of Decatur, Warwick Carbon Solutions is investing a billion dollars in a first-of-its kind power and steam plant. It’ll work with ADM’s carbon capture capabilities to handle most of the carbon dioxide emissions. In DeKalb, Kraft Heinz is investing in one of the continent’s largest consumer packaged goods distribution centers, while US Foods is building in the Chicago suburb of Aurora. Other Illinois wins include projects from CJ Logistics, Target, GE Appliances and CoreWeave.
Gotion Inc. is a leading manufacturer of energy storage systems and EV batteries. Its lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Manteno will create around 2,600 local jobs. The project was awarded Project of the Year in the manufacturing category, as well as Clean Tech Project of the Year.
The Gotion project embodies Illinois’ business-friendly climate and strong reputation as an EV, manufacturing, and clean energy powerhouse, which is bolstering the state’s supply chain and meeting the growing demand for batteries across the EV sector.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding achievements of these states in fostering economic growth and creating jobs,” said Andy Greiner, Editor of Area Development magazine. “The Gold and Silver Shovel Awards highlight the exceptional efforts of state economic development teams and their unwavering commitment to building strong, vibrant economies.”
Read the complete Area Development story here.
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