Delaware Money Moves: Millions for electric vehicle batteries and charging stations

Delaware’s greentech footprint keeps growing. 

DuPont spinoff Chemours recently announced the opening of a new facility devoted to developing a more efficient and affordable electric vehicle battery.

This month’s investments, acquisitions and grants across the first state also span finance, education, manufacturing, aquaculture and tourism. Potential growth occurred in Dover, Wilmington and even Old New Castle.

Get all the details below the chart, where we look at the top 10 companies hiring for tech jobs in the Delaware market and how that’s changed since last month.

Chemors opens its Battery Innovation Center in Newark

Chemours made an undisclosed but multi-million dollar investment in electric vehicle (EV) battery investment. On Aug. 13, it opened the Chemours Battery Innovation Center (CBIC), a laboratory facility located at the Chemours Discovery Hub at the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus in Newark.

The CBIC will serve as a technical support lab where partners and customers can collaborate with Chemours engineers to find new ways to develop affordable high-performance lithium-ion batteries using the company’s existing research and development.

“Our Teflon fluoropolymer binders are vital in developing solvent-free battery electrode manufacturing, which unlocks the path for more cost-effective and energy-efficient vehicles,” said Gerardo Familiar, president of advanced performance materials at Chemours, in a press release. 

The CBIC lab will offer data analytics capabilities to enable predictive modeling for EV manufacturers.

Delaware gets $14M to install vehicle charging stations on I-95

The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) will receive almost $14 million of a $249 million grant to install medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle charging infrastructure on I-95.

The funds will go toward one charging location along I-95 or 495 in Delaware. DelDOT will solicit the public to determine the best location.

The Clean Corridor Coalition awarded the $249 million grant. It’s a project led by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that includes DelDOT, the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The coalition aims to combat climate change and support job training and regional planning.

The project will formally start in January 2025 and will take about five years to complete.

More Money Moves:

• Delaware State University, in partnership with Education, Health and Research International, received a five-year $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The funding will support the development of a training curriculum to equip workers with best practices for caring for senior citizens and treating dementia-related diseases.
  
• Capital One closes in on the Discover acquisition. The $35.3 billion deal could impact more than 2,000 Delaware employees across both companies if Capital One completes all of the steps in the process. 
  
• CP Cases, a UK-based manufacturing company with a subsidiary in Frankford, has been 87% acquired by the global firm Lagercrantz. Delaware-based US general manager Peter Gill and founder Peter Ross will retain 13% ownership in the company’s shares. It was previously a location project of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership.
  
• Norwegian company AquaCon is turning the old Bainbridge Naval Base west of Newark on the edge of Cecil County, Maryland into a $320 million salmon farm. The project will be built in two phases, starting next year. 
  
• Jessop’s Tavern in Old New Castle is one of 50 historic restaurants nationwide to receive a $50,000 historical restoration grant. The building was built in 1674 by barrel-maker Abraham Jessop and housed many different businesses over the years before opening as Jessop’s in 1996.
  
• Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County received Delaware Division of Vocational Rehabilitation funds to support a Project SEARCH program in Kent County, a workforce development program for disabled residents
  
• The Council on Development Finance approved $700,000 to prep for a new East Dover industrial park. It may tap into a recent joint-use agreement signed by Delaware officials that authorizes more civilian and commercial flights at part of Dover Air Force Base.