Obama to visit Holland battery plant

President Obama tomorrow will deliver remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Compact Power Inc. battery plant in Holland.

The plant is the ninth of nine new advanced battery factories to start construction as a result of the $2.4 billion in Recovery Act advanced battery and electric vehicle awards President Obama announced last August. The project is expected to create hundreds of construction and manufacturing jobs in Holland.

Once fully operational, the Compact factory will produce battery cells to support 53,000 Chevy Volts, a plug-in hybrid expected in showrooms this year. Ford Motor Co. has also picked Compact Power Inc. as its battery supplier for the electric version of its Ford Focus compact car due out next year.

Troy-based Compact plans to begin battery-pack assembly next year and is in the final stages of selecting a U.S. production site. The lithium-ion cells for the battery packs will initially be provided by LG Chem. Production will then move to Holland, where LG Chem is building a $300 million plant due to begin operations in 2012.

The Focus Electric will have a target driving range of up to 100 miles per full charge. It is one of five electrified vehicles Ford plans to bring to market in the U.S. in the next two years. The vehicle will be produced in Wayne, Mich., which will begin assembling gasoline versions of the 2011 Focus later this year.

MI Perspective: For years, if not decades, Michigan automakers have been painted as part of the problem leading to the U.S. addiction to foreign oil -- ignoring the reality that Americans demand gas-guzzlers when oil is cheap and scream bloody murder about Detroit when prices soar. Now, however, the state has a chance to be seen as part of the solution in achieving energy independence. The President's visit is more than a media event, though it is likely to torn apart in the rip tides of political commentary for and against Obama. Michigan needs to keep it's eye on the prize: not just energy independence for America but economic independence for the state. Freedom from reliance on federal handouts and progress toward industrial diversification.