CONCORD, N.C. -- The old Phillip Morris manufacturing plant in Concord has been vacant since 2009, but Tuesday afternoon it was reborn.
Alevo Energy had its global launch, the company bought the site and plans to manufacture high tech batteries that could be a boom to green energy.
"We're targeting the grid market, the batteries we make are industrial quality batteries which are designed to fit in the grid," said Tom O' Leary, Vice President of Alevo Energy.
The batteries are big enough to resemble a trailer, and will be manufactured right inside the hall where today's big announcement was made.
The company says 500 jobs will be created next year, expanding to 2,500, and if things go really well some 6 ,000 people could eventually work here.
The batteries could be used to make renewable energy more attractive. Say for example a power company has a wind farm, power could be stored when the wind is at its peak and released as needed.
"When the wind dies down that energy is not being generated on grid banks you can store the wind so when the wind died down you can optimize the power in the grid."
The batteries are lithium ion based, but the company has figured out a way to make them so they don't generate heat or combust.
"The advantage of our battery is its noncombustible and it's very robust, the battery will last for 20 years which is unheard of in this industry," said O'Leary.
For now the company is sticking to selling to utilities or large companies and is not getting in the auto battery market.
