Site work has begun as Form Energy, a Somerville, Mass., energy battery storage developer, prepares to build a $760-million manufacturing plant on the site of a West Virginia steel mill that closed two decades ago.
The new facility will use iron, water and air as key components of batteries made at less cost than the dominant technology on the market and with longer storage duration than those made from lithium ion, which require hard-to-find critical minerals. Form Energy said it selected the site after considering hundreds of locations in 16 states over the past year.