Lured by more than a half a billion dollars in state incentives, a Chinese electric vehicle battery maker plans to operate a manufacturing plant in Kankakee County that Illinois officials say will create 2,600 full-time jobs and further propel the state toward its goal of being a hub for the nation’s burgeoning EV industry.

The announcement Friday by the Gotion high tech lithium battery company represents another step in helping Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s achieve his ambitions to bring more EV business in Illinois while also marking the governor’s first major victory in the industry since securing Lion Electric’s electric bus manufacturing plant for Joliet in 2021.

Pritzker applauded Gotion’s plans as he stood with some of its top executives in Manteno, where the $2 billion plant is slated to begin its operations next year, producing lithium ion battery packs and battery cells to power electric buses, cars and trucks, and its products worldwide.

“Today, we take another giant leap forward,” Pritzker said. “This is the largest electric vehicle battery production investment in Illinois to date.”

The $536 million in incentives Pritzker pledged to Gotion were made possible by various legislation passed through the Democrat-led Illinois General Assembly within the last couple of years. The incentives include $125 million from the Invest in Illinois Fund, which created a $400 million “closing fund” for EV manufacturers and other companies to do business in the state in exchange for favorable financing.

In addition, through the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act, Gotion will be eligible to receive $213 million in tax breaks over 30 years, according to the governor’s office.

Officials said full-time workers at the facility would be paid at least 120% of the average wage of similar jobs — or roughly $55,000 a year — in the Manteno area.

According to the governor’s office, the company was also approved by local authorities for a 30-year property tax abatement.

“Gotion selecting Manteno to be the home of their new state-of-the-art battery facility brings the promise of a great future for the village, the county, the region and the state,” Manteno Mayor Tim Nugent said at the event. “Today’s news propels our area into the center of a new emerging technology that will benefit all who will become involved in it.”

The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, a pro-business group, issued a statement calling Gotion’s plan “a huge win” for Pritzker and the state.

“It builds on our state’s long history of auto manufacturing, and we are thrilled to welcome Gotion to Illinois as we work diligently to create an innovative ecosystem that supports our growing electric vehicle sector,” said Mark Denzler, the association’s president and CEO.

Friday’s announcement is also a win for the Pritzker administration’s push for clean energy and environmentally-friendly policies. Under Pritzker in 2021, lawmakers approved the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that set ambitious deadlines for shutting down coal-fired power plants by 2030, gas plants by 2045 and achieving carbon-free power by midcentury.

Pushing Illinois into the electric vehicle industry has been one of Pritzker’s signature priorities in his 4 ½ years as governor. His goal through the REV Act, also passed in 2021, was to create thousands of jobs, help build facilities, train workers getting into the EV manufacturing or supply field and put forth a stronger effort toward bringing a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030.

This policy position mirrors that of President Joe Biden, who in November 2021 signed into law a $1 trillion infrastructure bill meant to include, among other things, funding for EV charging stations across the U.S., including in Illinois.

The state’s EV ambitions are anchored by Rivian, the California-based automaker that launched production in downstate Normal in 2021 after buying an idled Mitsubishi plant for $16 million about four years earlier and transforming it through a $1.2 billion renovation. It now has 7,000 employees.

In late July, Pritzker announced an agreement with cable manufacturer Prysmian Group to expand its facility in downstate Du Quoin for renewable cable production. Also bolstered by the REV Act, Pritzker’s office said the business plans to invest $63.8 million and create 80 jobs as it adds over 100,000 square feet of new manufacturing space.

But the addition of Gotion to Illinois’ EV portfolio comes as Pritzker and the state have been looking to fill the void left by the closing of Stellantis’ plant in Belvidere.

Stellantis laid off its last 1,200 workers after stopping production of Jeep Cherokees amid declining sales, and the automaker bypassed Belvidere last year in announcing plans to produce its next-generation Charger and Challenger EVs in Canada, where it’s also building a $5 billion battery plant.

As part of Gotion’s announcement, the governor’s office said a “state-of-the-art manufacturing training academy” would be developed to educate workers pursuing careers in the clean energy sector. The state would also offer grants to workforce providers to train new employees, Pritzker’s office said.

Pritzker’s praise of a Chinese company such as Gotion comes at a time when some Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, have argued against encouraging businesses with ties to China because of the country’s adversarial relationship with the U.S.

A Pritzker spokesman dismissed such criticism as “nothing more than political grandstanding.”

“Many companies with Chinese ties have manufacturing facilities in the United States and many U.S. companies have manufacturing facilities in China,” said Alex Gough, the governor’s spokesman. “Gotion Inc. is actually headquartered in California and is majority owned by Volkswagen. The deal is strictly business; it creates jobs and brings billions in investment to Illinois cementing our future as a leader in the EV space.”

jgorner@chicagotribune.com