BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — Aspen Aerogels' proposed electric vehicle parts plant in Bulloch County will no longer come to fruition.
Originally announced in 2022, the plant was the single largest investment opportunity in the history of the county, with $352 million going towards the project.
The proposed 500,000 square-foot facility would have focused on the production of aerogel thermal insulating material, which is used to assemble the batteries for electronic vehicles. An estimated 150 jobs would have been created from this.
In an announcement on Friday, Feb. 14, Aspen announced the decision to end construction.
"To meet long-term aerogel demand, Aspen will invest to maximize capacity at its East Providence manufacturing facility and utilize a flexible supply strategy.[...] Accordingly, Aspen has stopped construction of its planned second aerogel manufacturing facility in Statesboro, Georgia. The Company will be assessing options to derive value from the assets in Statesboro, including relocating some equipment to upgrade and expand its existing plant. This path requires minimal capital," the company wrote in a statement.
Ricardo C. Rodriguez, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, noted, "In early 2023, pre-empting a reset in EV demand expectations, we decided to right-time the construction of our planned second aerogel manufacturing facility in Statesboro, Georgia and subsequently ramped up our external manufacturing capacity for our Energy Industrial business. In this most recent quarter, the external manufacturing model has fully demonstrated its ability to efficiently increase aerogel supply. We are confident that a capital-light and modular capacity plan provides the most efficient path to creating value. Looking ahead, we believe that we are fully funded by a strong balance sheet that enables us to play offense and evaluate a variety of opportunities, including additional paths for organic and inorganic growth, optimizing the capital structure, and returning capital to shareholders."