A company that manufactures materials for electric vehicles is likely to set up shop in Fort Worth as the city considers a seven-year tax abatement.
MP Materials Corp. of Las Vegas announced in December plans to build its initial rare earth metal, alloy and magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth.
Under the proposal, MP Materials will develop a 200,000-square-foot greenfield metal, alloy and neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet manufacturing facility, which will also serve as the business and engineering headquarters for the company’s magnetics division, MP Magnetics. The facility will be located at 13840 Independence Parkway in the AllianceTexas development. The mining of the materials will take place in California, but the magnets will be manufactured here.
To secure the manufacturing plant and the division headquarters, the city is offering a seven-year agreement on up to 60% of the incremental value of real and business personal property taxes, according to a presentation by Robert Sturns, director of economic development for the city.
The manufacturing plant will provide key components for the growing electric vehicle market, Sturns said.
"The company is really involved in creating the material for the magnets that are going into electric vehicle components,” he said. “That is really the piece we are talking about today.”
To receive the tax abatement, the company is required to spend a minimum of $40 million in total construction costs by the end of 2023 and spend $60 million in business personal property. The company will also be required to create 30 new full-time jobs by the end of 2023 with an average annual wage of $80,390. Total employment is expected to eventually be about 100, Sturns said. Tax revenue to the city over the seven years of the agreement is expected to be $1.8 million.
MP Materials also announced in December it entered an agreement with General Motors to supply U.S.-sourced and manufactured rare earth materials, alloy and finished magnets for the electric motors in more than a dozen automobile models beginning in 2023.
NdFeB permanent magnets are critical components to the electric motors and generators that power electric vehicles, robots, wind turbines, drones, defense systems and other technologies to transform electricity into motion and motion into electricity, according to the company.
There will be a public hearing on the plan at the council's Jan. 25 meeting.
Source: https://fortworthbusiness.com/business/city-considers-abatements-for-magnet-manufacturing-plant-aimed-at-growing-ev-market/
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