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Move over, Detroit Auto Show? Here comes "The Battery Show."

Michigan already has the North American International Auto Show.  

This year, the state will also host The Battery Show.  Michigan lured the advanced lithium-ion battery trade show from California. 

Of course, this is a trade show, not a consumer show, so unless you have an unusual interest in lithium-ion chemistries, you might want to stick to the Detroit Auto Show for now. 

But Eric Shreffler of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation says The Battery Show is still a big deal.  Shreffler says companies from around the world will see a “beehive” of activity in electric cars and advanced batteries in Michigan.

"With those companies coming in and getting exposed to what’s already here, I think a lot of them are going to walk away from that, going, ‘we need to be a part of this.'"

The MEDC expects the growing advanced battery industry will create 20-thousand new jobs in Michigan in the next ten years. 

The federal government has invested $1.2 billion in advanced battery projects in Michigan alone. 

The state of Michigan has awarded $1 billion in tax credits to companies working on lithium-ion batteries.

Those tax credits are awarded only after the company in question meets certain benchmarks, including job creation.

 

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.