$1.6B battery factory pauses construction in SC due to ‘market uncertainty’

FLORENCE, S.C. (WSPA) – The company building a $1.6 billion battery factory in South Carolina has paused construction.

AESC released a statement Thursday that they halted work on the facility due to “policy and market uncertainty.”

Construction on the factory, located in Florence, began in 2023.

“AESC has invested over $1 billion into the Florence facility, and we anticipate being able to resume construction once circumstances stabilize,” said AESC spokesperson Brad Grantham in a statement. “AESC fully intends to meet our commitments to invest $1.6 billion and create 1,600 jobs in the coming years.”

BMW announced in 2022 that the company signed an agreement with AESC to supply battery cells for its new factory in Woodruff.

Plant Woodruff, which broke ground in 2023, is a new $700 million high-voltage battery assembly facility currently under construction in Woodruff which is expected to employ 300 people when finished.

In response to questions from 7NEWS, BMW did not directly address whether AESC’s decision to pause construction on their plant would affect their future operations but did say that their Woodruff facility is still scheduled to begin production of high-voltage battery modules in 2026.