Clayco Selected by ENTEK as Design-Build Contractor For New $1.5 Billion Indiana Lithium Battery Separator Plant

ENTEK Lithium Separators, the only producer of “wet-process” lithium-ion battery separator materials owned and based in the United States, announced that Chicago-based Clayco will serve as its design-build contractor for a new facility in Indiana. Clayco’s services will include design, engineering, procurement, construction, and concrete self-perform for the project.

ENTEK previously announced its plans in March to establish operations in Indiana, investing $1.5 billion in a new Terre Haute production facility. The project, which marks ENTEK’s largest investment thus far, will create up to 642 new family wage jobs by the end of 2027 and support the growing electric vehicle (EV) industry across the United States.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to confirm Clayco as our design build contractor on this momentous undertaking in Terre Haute,” said ENTEK CEO Larry Keith. “We’re embarking on a project that will have positive impacts on the local and larger economy, as well provide a key component required for the electrification of vehicles to further US climate goals — and a partner like Clayco brings the experience to make informed decisions to help us achieve our objectives.”

Clayco brings significant experience in the electric vehicle segment from projects with companies such as SK On and Group14 (which recently announced the world’s biggest factory for production of advanced silicon battery materials that is being designed and built by Clayco). Clayco has also delivered manufacturing plants throughout the entire electric vehicle supply chain, including battery component and mineral plants for anode and cathode providers, lithium-ion battery cell production plants, and vehicle manufacturing and assembly plants. With this experience, Clayco brings the focused perspective of plant and process requirements for projects like ENTEK’s new facility.

For ENTEK, Clayco will design and build the production facilities in Terre Haute, Indiana to house equipment for the production of lithium battery separators within approximately 1.4-million-square-feet of floor area. Clayco will provide multi-discipline design and engineering of the plant required to support ENTEK’s manufacturing process. In addition, Clayco will self-perform the concrete foundations, flatwork, tilt up wall panels, and concrete paving. At peak, construction is anticipated to reach approximately 400 workers. Clayco is in the initial stages of planning a series of community outreach events to begin to engage the local subcontracting community.

“We are very excited to work with ENTEK as well as the local community on this terrific project,” said Anthony Johnson, President of Clayco’s Industrial Business Unit. “Clayco is proud to be an industry leader in the design, engineering, and construction of manufacturing plants to support the growing US electric vehicle industry. We are incredibly honored to play such a significant role in ENTEK’s growth.”

The campus will help ENTEK scale its U.S. production, capable of supporting 1.4 to 1.6 million EVs annually by 2027. The new giga-scale lithium-ion battery separator operations will leverage ENTEK’s pioneering sustainable, state-of-the-art solvent extraction and recovery systems and processing techniques, and the company will work to utilize available renewable energy with a focus on a reduced carbon footprint. The company plans to break ground on the campus in 2023/24 and launch its Indiana operations between 2025-2027.

About Clayco

Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely and sustainably delivers the highest quality solutions to clients across North America on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $5.2 billion in revenue for 2022, Clayco specializes in the “art and science of building,” providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential-related building projects. For more information, visit www.claycorp.com

About ENTEK:

ENTEK has over 35 years of experience producing battery separators for batteries to support electric, advanced start-stop and standard vehicles, trucks, emergency vehicles, emergency backup power, utility scale energy storage, and industrial batteries. ENTEK has more than two decades of experience as the only US owned and US based producer of ‘wet-process’ separator for lithium batteries and continues to invest in the future of the domestic lithium battery industry. ENTEK is also a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of extruders and material handling equipment for the production of battery separators and many other non-ENTEK applications.