West Virginia’s coal miners and an innovative battery company born from America’s leading research labs are launching a patriotic energy revolution. We believe America’s economic prosperity depends upon pioneering partnerships, like the one between the United Mine Workers of America and Sparkz.
That’s why an Indian American entrepreneur from Silicon Valley and a sixth-generation coal miner are joining forces to secure the battery supply chain with the goal of making or mining every component in North America. Our mission is to end China’s dominance in battery manufacturing, while preserving and expanding jobs for coalfield families and their communities.
The truth is that rank-and-file coal miners have become scarce in the United States. Last year, there were fewer hourly coal miners working in the country than at any time since the federal government began keeping statistics. Employment has risen a bit since then, but the energy marketplace will continue to transform and so will the jobs that go with it. The UMW intends to have a voice in that transformation, and this initiative is a first step.
Currently, manufacturers in Asia produce 90% of the world’s battery capacity. The growing needs of a variety of markets demand that we as a nation reverse this trend. We’ve pinpointed these highly trained workers to boost the effort to rightfully focus on ending our country’s heavy reliance on China for battery components.
For SPARKZ, the commitment to the people of West Virginia renewed the pledge at a White House meeting in December where the company first met its partners at the UMW. At that meeting with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, national climate adviser Gina McCarthy, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chairwoman Gayle Manchin, SPARKZ committed to “setting our sights on making other EV battery components super localized in Appalachia.”
Through private capital, incentives from the state of West Virginia, bipartisan support from Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and investments from the bipartisan infrastructure law, we plan to break ground soon on a Gigafactory in West Virginia, with a commitment to a diverse workforce in previously distressed communities.
The initial production capacity will employ 350 workers, eventually expanding to thousands, creating one of the largest climate-tech union workforce partnerships in the heart of Appalachia. In this location and with these workers, SPARKZ technologies will eliminate environmentally and economically costly minerals, like cobalt and nickel, making America more competitive and less reliant on an ever-shifting global market.
This week, SPARKZ began the hiring process for its first workers recruited and trained by the UMW. It marks the start of the process of building a truly American battery company reliant on its technologies and workforce, not China. SPARKZ also knows that the mine workers hired will have the training necessary to undertake advanced manufacturing safely — a key selling point in a complex industry and for customers.
In May, Manchin, a champion for innovation and West Virginia’s coalfield families said his state’s “brave coal miners have powered our nation to greatness, and partnerships like the one between the SPARKZ and the United Mine Workers is proof that there is an important role for them to play in our nation’s energy transition.”
We agree. We have faith in the fabric of these workers built by generations that drove our industrial revolutions and powered our arsenals during World War II. They will play the key role in bringing manufacturing back to the United States and boosting our global position as a leader in climate technologies.
Cecil Roberts is president of the United Mine Workers of America.
