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Proterra Inc. formally announced today that it plans to build a 240,000-square-foot manufacturing and R&D center at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research. The company develops and assembles drive- and energy-storage systems for heavy-duty vehicles.
Staff Report
Published Feb. 4, 2010
Proterra Inc. formally announced today that it plans to build a 240,000-square-foot manufacturing and R&D center at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.
Construction on the facility, which will sit on a 25-acre parcel, is expected to begin this spring.
“This is a red letter day, not just for Greenville, but for the Upstate and for South Carolina,” said Butch Kirven, a director of the Greenville Area Development Corp. and chairman of Greenville County Council. “Proterra opens the door to a whole new range of innovative enterprises to come. We are very proud of our team who worked very hard to make this happen, and we are very proud of our newest corporate citizen: Proterra.”
The company, based at the Coors Technology Center in Golden, Colo., develops and assembles drive- and energy-storage systems for heavy-duty vehicles, including an electric bus that the city of Greenville has agreed to purchase for it public-transit fleet.
“Proterra’s location in Greenville is another piece in the CU-ICAR puzzle that establishes it as one of the premiere locations for leading-edge transportation and technology companies,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White.
Proterra and its partners design, develop and assemble hybrid-drive solutions and complete vehicles for such commercial uses as transit, school and commercial buses, parcel delivery vehicles and other trucks.
Its fast-charge battery electric transit bus has achieved 17 to 21 miles per gallon in testing at the Federal Transit Administration’s Altoona Center. That is an improvement of roughly 500% over conventional diesel buses.
Proterra’s very first vehicle, a battery-dominant fuel cell hybrid transit bus funded by the transit administration, is in service in Columbia.
The company will lease land at CU-ICAR campus, with the potential to expand into the entire 50-acre site.
Proterra plans to invest $68 million in the site and hire 1,300 people during the next seven years. Proterra will work with ReadySC on work force training and job placement in mechanical assembly, warehouse, logistics, managerial, engineering and quality assurance positions.
The state Department of Commerce has approved Proterra for the Job Development Credits program, a performance-based incentive tied to job creation and capital investment.
Proterra was joined at today’s announcement by local and state leaders, including Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Jim DeMint, Rep. Bob Inglis, White, Kirven, Clemson University President James Barker, the S.C. Department of Commerce, the Greenville Area Development Corp. and the S.C. Research Authority.
“This new facility will be our first full-scale, state-of-the-art research and development and manufacturing facility for our groundbreaking clean transportation solutions,” said Jeff Granato, Proterra CEO.
Proterra chose Greenville from among sites in 30 states, Granato said.
He cited the state’s work force capabilities and research and development support, as well as efforts by Sanford, the federal delegation, local officials and economic development entities.
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