Energy startup to bring electric battery factory to W.Va.
By LEAH WILLINGHAM
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The energy startup SPARKZ says it plans to build an electric battery factory in West Virginia in 2022 that will employ at least 350 people. The company will partner with the United Mine Workers of America to recruit and train dislocated miners to work at the factory. SPARKZ Founder and CEO Sanjiv Malhotra says the batteries produced at the factory will be 100% cobalt-free batteries. SPARKZ is in the final stages of site selection in West Virginia for the factory. The company, founded in 2019, says it will be announcing customer partnerships in the coming months.