our next energy inc an electriccar battery startup involving several former leaders of apple inc’s aapl secretive car project is planning to invest 16 billion into a factory in michigan to make enough battery cells for about 200000 evs annually the state of michigan on wednesday approved a 200 million grant for the project that promises to create 2112 new jobs once the facility in van buren township about 10 miles west of the detroit airport is fully operational by the end of 2027 the company must create and maintain the jobs or face a clawback of the funds the investment is part of an influx of battery capacity being built in the us as companies race to provide car makers with the cells they will need for all of the evs they are planning that effort has only intensified following the enactment of the inflation reduction act which aims to jumpstart domestic battery production the law ties consumer tax credits for buying evs to how much battery material comes from domestic production “the inflation reduction act has literally made our phone ring off the hook” mujeeb ijaz founder and chief executive of the company known as one said in an interview “we’re seeing a lot of emphasis on the us supply chain and us cell manufacturing” the company said it plans to produce at full capacity 20gigawatt hours including lithium iron phosphate cells annually or the equivalent of battery packs for about 200000 vehicles each year one hasn’t said which car makers it will be supplying an expanded version of this story appears on wsjcom   ukraine’s new offensive is fueled by captured russian weapons   markets break when interest rates rise fast here are the cracks