The recent withdrawal of funds from the Department of Energy by the Trump administration could impact projects across southwestern Virginia.
Some of these projects include the Microporous project, which was planning to invest $1.3 billion in a factory that creates separators for lithium-ion batteries, often used in electric vehicles and consumer electronics, and upgrades to Volvo’s New River Valley truck manufacturing facility.
The Microporous project has been in the works for over a decade and just recently held a groundbreaking ceremony.
“This is the very plain, the very farm site in Pittsylvania County, we’ve been working on this site for over a decade, it goes back to the year 2010,” Senator Mark Warner said. “This was going to be the gem.”
The pulling of funding also raises the question of what the next move is for projects that are affected by this.
“When the funding for that stops, then those people who are trying to do that buildup and effectively build up some kind of work, and a lot of that was green energy driven,” Chuck Simpson, President of the Wetsern Virginia Labor Federation, said. they have to stop and rethink what they are doing because the funding they are trying to move in that direction no longer exists.”
The concern is that withholding federal funds could make projects like this more expensive in the future.
“I fear that, even if the federal money comes through and the financing package gets put back together, you’re going to see that inflation goes up because of these tariffs that will drive interest rates up and that will drive up the costs of this facility.” Senator Warren said. “It’s econ 101.”
