Jeffersonville Honda battery plant gets mention during vice presidential debate

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) -- One Ohio city received a mention during Tuesday's vice presidential debate, but it didn't come from the Ohioan on the stage.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic candidate for vice president, mentioned 2,000 jobs created in Jeffersonville, home of a Honda electric vehicle battery plant.

During an exchange on climate change, Walz said the plant, announced in October 2022, was the result of the Biden administration's EV policies.

"What we've seen out of the Harris administration now, the Biden-Harris administration, we've seen this investment," he said. "We've seen massive investments, the biggest in global history that we've seen in the INflation Reduction Act has created jobs all across the country, 2,000 in Jeffersonville, Ohio, taking the EV technology we invented and making it here."

The plant, a prtnership between LG Energy and Honda, will produce lithium ion batteries for Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States.

Ohio provided $237 million to the project, including a $140 million economic development grant for the plant, a $10 million workforce grant for the project itself, and $87 million to retool Honda’s existing facilities.

According to its website, the plant has started recruiting professional roles for engineers and other jobs.

Construction of the 2 million-square-foot facility is expected to be completed by the end of the year.