VIRGINIA

to build the world’s largest vertical farm campus, where millions of pounds of strawberries will grow.

Three billion-dollar deals helped seal the Silver Shovel for Indiana. The biggest is the StarPlus Energy announcement of a $2.7 billion, 1,400 employee lithiumion battery plant in Kokomo, which is recognized as a Manufacturing Project of the Year. The batteries will power vehicles made by Stellantis, the auto giant created by the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group of France. Indianapolisbased pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. has expansion plans in the suburban community of Lebanon worth $2 billion or more, while SkyWater Technology is planning a $1.8 billion semiconductor R&D and manufacturing facility in West Lafayette, as a partnership involving the state and nearby Purdue University.

Indiana enjoyed another semiconductor announcement, Nhanced Semiconductors in Odon, and another pharmaceutical deal, the Evonik expansion in Lafayette. RollsRoyce is adding jobs at its Indianapolis aerospace engine facility, and Andretti Global is building a motorsports headquarters facility in suburban Fishers — all projects worth hundreds of millions in investment dollars each.

In Silver Shovel honoree Tennessee, EV batteries are creating the biggest headlines. Leading the way is the $3.2 billion LG Chem America cathode plant announced in Clarksville, where 860 people will manufacture a component for EV batteries — enough to power more than a million new cars a year. Piedmont Lithium is also planning to make a building block for EV batteries in Etowah (where it’s investing nearly $600 million) and so is Duksan Electera America in Shelbyville. And the Ultium Cells battery plant that Tennessee announced back in 2021 is already expanding and adding 400 jobs — it’s intended as a supplier for the General Motors Spring Hill assembly plant.

Jobs-wise, the biggest Tennessee announcement is the Franklin expansion of the Landmark Recovery business services/ headquarters facility, where 1,300 new jobs are on the way for this drug and alcohol addiction treatment services firm. In the world of consumer products, hundreds of new Tennessee jobs are being created by 3M and Georgia-Pacific.

States with Population 4+ to 6 million

In Alabama, aluminum is one of the keys to Silver Shovel designation. Atlanta-based Novelis is building a $2.5 billion aluminum mill in Bay Minette, which made our Manufacturing Projects of the Year list and will lead to a thousand jobs after it opens in 2025. Watch for another thousand new jobs in Mobile, where Airbus is spending $700 million to add another final assembly line to boost production of the A320 passenger aircraft. Speaking of flying, United Launch Alliance is expanding in Decatur to accommodate a contract with Amazon to build three dozen rockets that will send Internet-delivering satellites into orbit.

The impact of climate change is also creating jobs in Alabama, as First Solar spends more than a billion dollars on a photovoltaic solar module manufacturing facility that will create about 700 clean energy jobs. Of course, the EV impact is felt here, too, through the expansion of the Hyundai plant in Montgomery and the launch of the Hyundai Mobis battery module plant nearby. Two separate beverage facilities are planned in the same part of the state, as well — Diageo and Manna Beverages & Ventures.

South Carolina earns a Silver Shovel with a host of projects tied one way or another into EVs and the auto sector in general. The biggest is one of the Manufacturing Projects of the Year, the $3.5 billion Redwood Materials battery operation creating 1,500 jobs. But that’s just the start. Envision AESC is investing $810 million in a state-ofthe-art battery cell gigafactory that will employ 1,170, BMW is building a $200 million press shop in Greer, and Bosch will be producing fuel cells in Anderson that will drive hydrogen-powered trucks.

Alabama

Silver Shovel Winner

Another South Carolina project sparked by an interest in climate change is the Kontrolmatik Technologies project in Walterboro that will create more than 500 jobs. The facility will make lithiumion batteries for energy storage systems that can pair up with renewable energy generation or serve as backup power during outages.

Lots of companies are expanding in Wisconsin, enough to warrant a Silver Shovel. Leading the way is a Non-Manufacturing Project of the Year, the Exact Sciences headquarters expansion in Madison that will add some 1,300 new jobs. The company makes Cologuard, the heavily marketed at-home colon cancer screening test, along with tests that doctors can use to individualize cancer treatment.

The state has a pair of expansions related to watercraft — yacht-maker KCS International and shipbuilder Fincantieri Marine Group. Plenty of new jobs are being fed by expansions in the food industry, too. Salm Partners makes