by Jon Styf
Sinova Silicon is set to receive a second incentive for its silicon metal plant in Tiptonville if it is approved at next week’s State Funding Board meeting.
Sinova was awarded a $2.2 million incentive in December 2021 for its $150 million investment to build a new plant, which broke ground Oct. 17. Now the funding board is scheduled to approve a $6.5 million FastTrack incentive grant for the Lake County site.
Sinova said the first phase of its manufacturing construction is set to be completed in 2024 and employee 250 to 400 people. The second incentive could be related to a not-yet-announced second phase of the project.
The State Funding Board is also set to approve a $1.75 million incentive for 6K Energy Tennessee in Jackson and a $1 million incentive for Kordsa USA in Chattanooga.
FastTrack grants are state grants sent to local governments for specific infrastructure improvements or to companies to help offset the costs of expanding or moving into the state with the goal of increasing the number of full-time jobs and the average wages of jobs available in an area.
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced this week 6K Energy would invest $166 million in a battery material manufacturing plant in Jackson. The company will add a $50 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to its investment in the plant, expected to employ 230 people in Madison County.
Kordsa, meanwhile, plans to spend $50 million to expand its Chattanooga manufacturing facility. The company manufactures Nylon 66 and currently then ships it to North Carolina to have it converted to tire cord fabric. With the expansion, Kordsa will do that conversion itself before it is sold to tire manufacturers.
– – –
Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter of The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
Photo “Sinova Silicon” by Sinova Silicon.
