Study: Ohio Poised To Lead Electric Vehicle Automotive Supply Chain

COLUMBUS, OH (February 10, 2022) – The report “Ohio Battery Supply Chain Opportunities” released today highlights Ohio’s unique positioning to become an industry leader and hub for advanced technologies that can reduce emissions and innovate the automotive industry for decades to come. “Ohio Battery Supply Chain Opportunities” was co-sponsored by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and JobsOhio and authored by expert consulting firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI).

Thanks to recent initiatives aimed at building an auto supply chain that capitalizes on lithium-ion battery manufacturing, such as the GM/LG Chem (Ultium Cells) Lordstown investment and other facets of EV development, the report highlights that the State of Ohio is uniquely positioned to become an industry leader - reaffirming the state as a hub for innovative business endeavors in advancing automotive technologies that can reduce emissions for decades.

“As the industry continues to innovate and steer itself towards a future focused on a growing EV supply chain, this report solidifies Ohio’s value proposition as a premier destination for future innovation,” said J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO of JobsOhio. “JobsOhio was created to help bolster business and investment in Ohio, and our state is prepared to seize future opportunities in the industry that can bring good-paying jobs for Ohio’s workforce while reducing emissions in our state.”

The report notes that the state has made a multi-decade commitment to the automotive supply chain, resulting in more than 90 percent of Ohio’s exports currently related directly or indirectly to the automotive industry. That well-developed infrastructure and logistics landscape puts the state in prime position to serve growing consumer interest in electric vehicles (EV).  According to the report, Ohio has the second-largest automotive workforce in the country and is ranked as a top state for solar development in the Midwest over the next five years – key advantages for the state, making it a logical place for future investments in the EV supply chain as the auto industry is increasingly wanting renewable energy sooner and closer to their operations.

According to the report’s analysis, the most important key advantages in Ohio include:

• The state’s ability to quickly take a leadership position among U.S. states for implementing both upstream and downstream policies
• Ohio is a premier location for a cathode active materials (CAM) investment given the state’s already significant EV investments, which include the $2.3B investment in the GM/LG Chem (Ultium Cells) Lordstown plant, that will lead to further industry growth and job creation
• Ohio has well-developed infrastructure and logistics that have been pivotal to the state’s strong multi-decade commitment to the automotive supply chain
• The large and growing solar energy industry in Ohio
• Increasing renewable energy penetration can guarantee lower energy costs

“Ohio has a unique position in the domestic supply chain for electric vehicles. With a quickly growing solar industry and a well-established automotive supply chain legacy, Ohio has an opportunity to lead the U.S. domestic EV supply chain build-out,” said Andy Leyland, Head of Supply Chain Strategy, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. “Ohio is a premier location for CAM manufacturing.  A successful effort will create a positive feedback loop that will help to attract other aspects of this supply chain, including anode manufacturing, chemical processing, and even recycling.  Ohio should seek to align its policy with this investment attraction effort to protect and build on its automotive heritage as the industry pivots to electric transportation solutions.”

“This report makes clear that Ohio can pursue emissions reductions while creating good jobs and attracting new investment. In fact, it shows that the two go hand-in-hand as the auto sector aims to sell its customers a carbon-free electric vehicle,” said Dan Sawmiller, Ohio Energy Policy Director for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).  “JobsOhio is playing an important role in bringing new jobs and investment to Ohio while reducing emissions in the state. They understand the value that Ohio’s growing solar energy economy can have in attracting new investment.”

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JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention, and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio through  Find Your Ohio. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast Economic Development, One Columbus, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (Benchmark) is the world’s leading IOSCO-regulated price reporting agency (PRA), proprietary data provider, and market intelligence publisher for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle (EV) supply chain.  Our granular and expert focus on the entire supply chain makes us unique: from lithium and cobalt mining through to the manufacturing of cathode and anode functional materials to battery cell and EV production. At Benchmark, we set the lithium industry’s reference and benchmark pricing. Our series of price assessment and data methodologies allow us to collect our proprietary data from the source, creating data that is relied upon by the industry to make multi-billion dollar investment decisions that accelerate the energy storage revolution. Benchmark’s tireless and methodical data collection coupled with in-house expert analysis makes us entirely unique in the 21st-century publishing space and the world’s most trusted service. As a result, our services are relied upon by major actors in the EV supply chain; we have testified to the U.S. Senate multiple times, advised The White House, The Pentagon, and government agencies around the world. Visit us at www.benchmarkminerals.com.

NRDC, Jesús Canchola Sánchez jcanchola@nrdc.org 312-847-6808

Matt Englehart, JobsOhio 614-300-1152 englehart@jobsohio.com