Vietnamese electric vehicle producer VinFast selected Clayco as the general contractor and construction management company for its first U.S. manufacturing plant near Raleigh, N.C.

The automaker estimates the cost of the project at $2 billion to build five main production areas totaling 3 million sq ft on an 1,800-acre site. The facility was designed by Albert Kahn Associates.

Early site work for the project began this summer. The team plans to seek subcontractors soon, according to VinFast.

The company plans to produce as many as 150,000 vehicles per year at the plant, and may expand it in future phases of work. Production is slated to start in 2025. VinFast announced it would produce its VF7, VF8 and VF9 electric SUVs at the plant.

North Carolina has offered VinFast an incentive package worth $1.2 billion over several decades, in addition to support from local officials.

VinFast aims to grow its business in the U.S. In addition to being its first manufacturing facility in the U.S., the North Carolina plant would be VinFast’s first outside of Vietnam. The automaker has about a dozen showrooms in California so far. VinFast plans for the plant to be its primary supplier for the North American electric vehicle market.

The manufacturing campus will also include an office and training facility, central energy plant, fire prevention and pumphouse facilities and a finished vehicle area. VinFast has said it may also expand manufacturing at the site in future phases of construction.

McCarthy Building Cos.

ICL Battery Materials Plant

McCarthy recently started work on this St. Louis battery materials plant that Israel-based specialty minerals company ICL plans to use to supply the energy storage and electric vehicle sectors. ICL says the plant would be the first of its kind at commercial scale in the U.S. The 140,000-sq-ft facility would produce 33,000 tons of lithium iron phosphate annually. The U.S. Dept. of Energy provided a $197-million grant for the plant, which is expected to open in 2025.

Hyundai Engineering

EV Metaplant America

Hyundai Motor Group selected its affiliate Hyundai Engineering as the general contractor for its $7.6-billion, 2,923-acre electric vehicle and battery plant near Savannah in Bryan County, Ga. The EV plant would have a capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year from Hyundai, Genesis and Kia. It is scheduled to begin operating in 2025 and marks the automaker’s first dedicated EV plant in the U.S. Hyundai is also partnering with LG Energy Solution on a joint venture for the 30-GWh battery portion of the facility, which accounts for $4.3 billion of the project’s total cost. Hyundai says it aims to sell 3.2 million EVs globally by 2030.

Clayco

Battery Component Plant

Work led by Clayco recently got underway for Entek’s $1.5-billion lithium-ion battery separator plant in Terre Haute, Ind. The manufacturer plans to produce enough battery separators at the plant to supply 1.4 million electric vehicles annually. It claims to be the only U.S.-owned producer using a “wet process” to make battery separators. Clayco says it expects about 400 workers to be involved at peak construction.

JE Dunn

Dixie Tableware Plant

Photo courtesy JE Dunn

The JE Dunn-led team building this $425-million plant for disposable tableware products maker Dixie in Jackson, Tenn., held a topping out ceremony in late August. The contractor says it moved 390,000 yd of dirt, placed 52,000 cu yd of concrete and designed and engineered a 22,000-ft wastewater treatment system for the 900,000-sq-ft plant. The project is scheduled for completion next summer.