PLUGGED INTO THE FUTURE

Sustainability finds a home in Arizona

Arizona is emerging as one of the nation’s top destinations for sustainable industries.

Sectors including electric and zero-emission vehicle manufacturing, next-generation battery technology, solar and other clean energy production, biodegradable materials, freshwater science, agritech, and more have flourished in recent years.

Last spring, Nikola Motors celebrated the production launch of its first fully electric semis from its 1-million-square-foot factory in Coolidge. The gleaming, white-and-black Tre BEV semi-trucks rolling off production lines are headed to customers across the United States, adding 645 horsepower to the slogan “Made in Arizona.”

Speaking at the event, CEO Mark Russell said, “What Nikola is about is trucks, but more than trucks. Nikola is about energy and making a system that is sustainable in the future — that can go on forever.”

Additional electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in the state include Lucid, ElectraMeccanica, Atlis Motors, and Zero Electric Vehicles.

Arizona’s EV makers will soon benefit from the nearby operations of large-scale battery producers including American Battery Factory, which is investing $1.2 billion to build its first battery manufacturing facility in the U.S. in Tucson, creating 1,000 jobs. The day after American Battery Factory’s big announcement, Sion Power announced it is expanding its battery manufacturing operations in Tucson, creating more than 150 jobs.

The expansions add to KORE Power’s 2021 announcement to build a battery manufacturing facility in Buckeye, creating 3,000 jobs.

In early May, Li-Cycle celebrated the grand opening of a new battery recycling plant in Gilbert. Li-Cycle’s proprietary technology boasts an industry-leading recovery rate of up to 95% resource mass recovery through a zero-waste, environmentally friendly process.

Similarly, battery innovator and 2021 Arizona Innovation Challenge awardee Ampcera is commercializing solid-state battery materials for electric vehicles and consumer electronics from its Tucson facility.

“We see great potential in scaling up manufacturing in Arizona,” says Ampcera CEO Sumin Zhu. “The state is very businessfriendly, there is a strong talent pool and many cost advantages. The presence of a growing EV supply chain in Arizona is also very attractive for our future business development.”

In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

In addition to EV and battery manufacturers, a wide range of sustainable industry changemakers have put down roots in Arizona.

Headquartered in Gilbert, Footprint is a global leader in sustainable, compostable packaging solutions; First Solar, headquartered in Tempe, is one of the world’s largest developers of solar panels and utility-scale photovoltaic systems; Meyer-Burger is building its first U.S. solar module manufacturing site in Goodyear; and XNRGY has plans for a 1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Mesa to develop sustainable air handling systems.

Air2O, a past Arizona Innovation Challenge awardee with its North American base in Phoenix, is a pioneer in advanced evaporative cooling technology. It provided cooling services for the massive soccer stadiums at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Air2O co-founder and CEO Michael Sullivan says besides Arizona’s sunny climate, it was the state’s entrepreneurial environment that attracted the company. “Arizona has a vibrant culture to support startups,” he says. “Simply having access to that local support means more than most people realize.”

Arizona is a natural fit for technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon future.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Arizona ranks in the top five states in total solar-powered generating capacity from both utility- and small-scale installations and ranks second in solar energy potential. Arizona also is one of four states with electricity generation from utility- scale solar thermal technologies, which concentrate sunlight to heat fluids that spin electricity-generating turbines.

Arizona’s sustainable industry growth means jobs, and lots of them. Nearly 300 solar companies operate in the Grand Canyon State. Advanced Energy Economy, a national industry association, estimates Arizona supports nearly 60,000 jobs in the advanced energy sector.

Funding from the Inflation Reduction Act Arizona could add more than 70,000 clean energy jobs by 2025, according to a report by E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs), a national nonpartisan group that advocates smart policies to benefit the economy and the environment.

Add to this flourishing environment some of the world’s top-ranked universities and community colleges.

For the third year in a row, Arizona State University ranked No. 1 in the Times Higher Education sustainability rankings, coming in ahead of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Michigan State University and Penn State University.

In addition, The University of Arizona’s Center for Innovation recently launched a business incubator at Biosphere 2, the three-acre ecological laboratory north of Tucson. An inaugural class of startups focusing on renewable energy and sustainable technology include Over the Sun, SolarSpace, Tectonicus Constructs and Red Sea Farms.

With industry, government and academia in close alignment, expect Arizona to continue to be a global leader in advancing sustainable technologies.

Find more about Arizona’s emerging technologies at azcommerce.com