New factory in Moses Lake to bring hundreds of new jobs

MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP) — A battery materials company has purchased a 600,000-square foot facility in Moses Lake, Washington, to be used to manufacture lithium-ion anode battery materials for the automotive and cell phone industries.

Sila, based in Alameda, California, said Wednesday the facility will bring hundreds of new jobs to the central Washington town. The company said it was drawn by the region's abundant hydropower.

Sila is making an initial investment to deliver silicon-based anode production sufficient to power batteries in 100,000 to 500,000 electric vehicles and 500 million mobile phones annually.

Production lines at the facility will start-up in the second half of 2024, and reach full production in the first half of 2025. The Moses Lake site has the potential for exponential growth that could power two million to 10 million electric vehicles per year, the company said.

“Sila is delivering proven next-generation anode materials today. Our new Washington state plant builds on that momentum offering the manufacturing capacity to meet the needs of our auto partners on their way to a fully electric future," said Gene Berdichevsky, co-founder, and CEO of Sila, said in a statement.