SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An energy technology company plans to build a $264 million manufacturing plant in Shelby County, bringing 450 full-time jobs to the area.

EnerVenue builds "metal-hydrogen batteries for stationary energy storage applications for utility-scale, commercial and residential use," according to a news release Tuesday from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's office.

"Our skilled workforce and communities working together to foster continued growth have made the economic momentum the commonwealth is experiencing possible," Beshear said in a news release. "For a company like EnerVenue to come in, invest and create jobs in Shelby County is an exciting next step for our manufacturing and energy storage sectors. I want to thank the company's leadership and the Shelby County community for making this project possible, and I look forward to the company's success in Kentucky."

Rebecca Kimbler, who owns Serendipity Kandy Kitchen in downtown Shelbyville, welcomes the new development and what it could do for her town.

"If it's that large and there is a lot more employees, then, of course, those employees have to have lunch and they get to know the area ...," she said.

Beshear's office said Tuesday that EnerVenue — since being founded in 2020 — "builds simple, safe and cost-efficient energy storage products. Based on technology proven by NASA over decades under the most extreme conditions, EnerVenue batteries, called Energy Storage Vessels, are refined and scaled for commercial and utility applications."

As part of Phase 1 of the project, EnerVenue will build a 1 million-square-foot facility on a 73-acre plot at Logan Station Road and Taylorsville Road in Shelby County. 

Downtown Shelbyville

Downtown Shelbyville. March 28, 2023. (WDRB Photo)

“As customer interest in EnerVenue's storage technology soars, we're excited to significantly scale battery production with our new state-of-the-art gigafactory in Shelby County,” said Jorg Heinemann, CEO at EnerVenue. “Following a nationwide vetting process, Kentucky emerged as the ideal fit to build our new facility. The state and county governments were committed to bringing manufacturing and clean energy jobs to the region, and we look forward to working with them as we build out operations.”

Shelby County is growing quickly, the fourth-fastest growing area in the state since 2010. Shelby County Judge Executive Dan Ison said Tuesday's announcement is a step toward pushing the county into the future with energy production, when the focus is often agriculture.

"We have over 220,000 acres of farmland in Shelby County and we have over 75 industries in Shelby County," Ison said. "So it's part of what I call the Shelby County balance."

The 73-acre plot is still just concrete and dirt at this point, but massive facilities like this don't take long to construct, and this is just the first phase. Ison and Kimbler are hoping the project will be a template to what the county will help facilitate in the future.

"Everybody in our community will benefit from good economic growth in this county," Ison said.

"I think it would be a great opportunity for all the businesses that are here to have more eyes that are looking at us," Kimbler said

Production at the EnerVenue facility could begin as soon as the end of the year.

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