ELLICOTT, N.Y. — Governor Hochul announced Monday a green energy company has decided to plant its first U.S. factory right here in WNY.
The Canadian lithium-ion battery producer Electrovaya, Inc., is making its U.S. footprint by taking its manufacturing to the Western New York farmlands of Chautauqua County.
“We're excited that this news is able to come out and start to increase economic development here in our county,” said Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel.
The project is set to create at least 250 new jobs for the region and put the county in the spotlight in the clean energy industry by naming Ellicott the home of its new primary manufacturing site.
“It’s advanced manufacturing. They’re not low-end jobs by any means,” said Electrovaya CEO Raj Das Gupta.
“We don't want to miss an opportunity that could put Chautauqua County on the map,” Wendel added.
But it’s not just Chautauqua County that’s reaping the benefits of this deal. Electrovaya saw the county’s rich manufacturing history and proximity to its largest customer base in Olean as some of the area’s biggest draws.
In addition, the company saw the appearance of Ellicott offering an existing plant that would allow the company to produce clean energy while using all clean energy.
“There’s no point producing lithium-ion batteries that are green with power that's dirty,” said Gupta.
The development is a part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s New Energy New York initiative that aims to make the state a national hub for battery innovation and manufacturing that will be seen in Ellicott starting as soon as next year.
“We want to get this up and running as soon as we can,” Gupta said. “We have lots of demand, lots of growing needs from our customer base. So it's in everyone's interest to get this site up and running as soon as we can.”