Viewpoint: Could Indiana be the Crossroads of an Electrified America?
America is changing the way it drives, and Indiana is sitting in the driver’s seat. Our state will soon be home to thousands of new, good-paying jobs and record investment in electric vehicle and component production facilities at a moment when EVs are poised to take off.
Earlier this year, battery maker Samsung SDI and carmaker Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) committed $2.5 billion to build a battery factory in Kokomo expected to create 1,400 jobs. General Motors, which hopes to build 1 million electric vehicles by 2025 and sell only electric vehicles by 2035, announced this month that they will invest $491 million to expand and upgrade a facility in Marion to support EV production.
More announcements are appearing on the horizon. GM and LG Energy Solution are also developing a plan for a $2.4 billion facility that would create 1,600 jobs, possibly located in St. Joseph County. LG and Honda have announced they will invest $4.4 billion in a joint U.S. venture to produce batteries for Honda electric vehicles. One of their potential locations is Indiana.
From 2020 to 2021, electric vehicle jobs in Indiana grew 29%. With the EV industry poised to expand exponentially in the years ahead, this growth should continue. New national policies will incentivize the purchase of US-made EVs, the production of those vehicles in America, and the installation of vehicle chargers. Four in 10 jobs in this rapidly growing electric vehicle industry were in manufacturing as of 2019, according to a report from Advanced Energy Economy, a business association. Indiana’s leadership should continue to fight to make sure that Indiana is the recipient of many of those manufacturing jobs. Gov. Eric Holcomb should be commended for leading trade delegations overseas to push for investments here at home, and for joining the Regional Electric Vehicle (REV) Coalition to support the development of a vehicle charging network across the Midwest. More of these kinds of efforts would benefit Indiana’s jobs prospects.
New jobs are always good news, but these jobs also signify a bright future for a state that’s been hard hit by past manufacturing downturns. Between 2001 and 2019, Indiana lost over 72,000 jobs in the well-paying manufacturing sector, but at the same time added 228,000 jobs in lower-paying job sectors. Naturally, that raises questions about the state’s ability to still create new manufacturing jobs. The recent EV battery factory announcements represent a very good start.
Driven by automakers domestic and abroad, it’s very clear that the future of automobiles will not be powered by gasoline, and because of Indiana’s bet on EVs, Hoosiers are poised to benefit.
Recent actions by Congress make that bet look even better. The federal government recently approved Indiana’s plan for nearly $100 million in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year, which will help ensure that no matter where you go, you’re never far from a place to charge your vehicle. The state will also use more than $5 million from its lawsuit settlement with Volkswagen to build 60 public fast-charging stations.
With private investment pouring in and federal funding dedicated to support EV ownership and usage, Indiana is wise to continue positioning itself as a manufacturing hub for the vehicles and parts that will be relied on as America transitions to electric-powered vehicles over the coming decades. Thanks to these developments, Indiana is on its way to becoming the Crossroads of an Electrified America.
Caryl Auslander is Indiana program director for Advanced Energy Economy.