By Craig Howell, The Weirton Daily Times
WEIRTON, W.Va. — Form Energy’s efforts to manufacture its new iron-air batteries, bringing a planned 750 jobs to the Upper Ohio Valley, received an extra spark of support Friday in the form of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy worth up to $150 million.
The funding award was announced officially by Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and Form Energy co-founder and CEO Mateo Jaramillo.
Last week, the company held a celebratory event with invited guests marking the completion of construction on Form Factory 1 in Weirton and the beginning of trial production. With this grant, Jaramillo said, Form Energy will ramp up its plans for hiring and production.
“This is an accelerant here. It’s helping to drive it even faster,” he explained.
The company broke ground in May 2023 for construction of its 800,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, where Form Energy will produce an iron-air battery officials said will be capable of providing 100 hours — more than four days — of energy. Jaramillo pointed out current lithium/ion batteries provide only about two-to-four hours of storage for many of the uses Form Energy is eyeing for its batteries.
