Chuck Reardon is vice president of a company, and a resident of a community. Each possesses what he calls "the intangibles."
First, the company. It's
Dow Kokam, a joint venture between the Dow Chemical Co. and lithium-ion battery manufacturer Kokam America. Now, there are a growing number of companies, in Michigan and elsewhere, that think they have the secret formula to power the next generation of electric vehicles. What Dow Kokam has is, well,
Dow Chemical. You might have heard of it. It's not exactly a startup, as opposed to much of its competition in the battery arena.
More on that later.
Next, there's the community of
Midland. Reardon has called this place his home for the past 15 years and, as commercial vice president for Dow Chemical, says he was "lucky enough to be a part of the team that identified the opportunity and helped put Dow Kokam together." It could not have been done without the skilled workforce already in Mid Michigan, he says.
Dow Kokam is in the process of building a new facility in Midland that will produce battery cells and eventually battery packs. The first phase of the project is a 400,000-square-foot facility that will employ about 320 people. That part is expected to be finished in the first part of 2012. When it's fully operational, and a total of 800,000 square feet, Dow Kokam's new Midland plant will employ about 800 people.
The project came together through a combination of tax incentives that made it attractive for battery companies to stay, or start up, in Michigan. It was a large focus of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The City of Midland pitched in to help create a Renaissance Zone.
The first phase of the plant will produce enough batteries to supply 30,000 electric or hybrid vehicles per year. But, given that there are few plug-in electric or all-electric vehicles on the road--Nissan's Leaf and the Chevy Volt to name two--what exactly is going to be done with all that battery-production capacity?
That, again, is where Dow's experience, and an already-seasoned workforce, comes in handy.
"In essence, we are building manufacturing for a market that hasn't fully evolved yet," says Kristina Schnepf, director of public affairs for Dow Kokam. "So, the work that's happening now is the development of the ecosystem, and the capability so that the vehicle OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) can produce, launch and put on the road the vehicles that people want."
Reardon says that's where Dow's connections and global reach come in handy. "What's the use in having the best chemistry, the best technology, if you can't package it up, put it in a battery system and have the expertise to integrate that into a vehicle?" he says.
"So, I think you've got to have not only good technology and product attributes, but really you've got to be able to also have the intangibles and the company expertise to be able to deliver that, as well," he says.
Helping deliver these "intangibles" is another acquisition,
Dassault SVE, a French company doing research on battery packs and systems. Between Dow, Kokam America and SVE, the bases are covered.
"Those three companies give us the ability to go all the way from raw materials and chemical products to vehicle integration," Schnepf says.
So far, customers include a company called PVI, which produces garbage trucks in France. Yes, Dow Kokam helps get rid of the refuse--in an environmentally correct way--in France. Another major customer is Corvus Energy, which is electrifying a number of tugboats. They're prime candidates for electrification, since they sit idle for long periods of time and are used in short spurts.
Reardon says to expect more partnership announcements this year. The time is right, and so is the location. The city of Midland, combined with great corporate partners and a good workforce, make it a "no-brainer" to build a new industry in Mid-Michigan, he says.
Howard Lovy is a Traverse City based freelance writer who specializes in technology and innovation. He can be reached via email.Like what you're seeing here on Mid Michigan's Second Wave? Well, we'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment here,
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