INSIGHT: Greater Vegas Primed for Growth in the Global Battery Manufacturing Industry

The global lithium-ion battery market is predicted to grow from $21.95 billion in 2020 to $115 billion in 2030, and Nevada is an ideal location for the growing industry. That was the message delivered at LVGEA’s recent INSIGHT event, hosted Tuesday, July 25 at UNLV’s Science & Engineering Building.

“Nevada is the only state in the nation that has all stages of the supply chain,” said Bob Potts, Deputy Director at the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). “We have everything from mining, to development, to assembly, to recycling. There is so much capacity, it’s going to be hard for us to catch up.”

The investor-exclusive event featured industry experts and officials from local and regional battery manufacturing companies, who spoke about the current state of the industry in Nevada, future aspirations, as well as industry innovations currently happening in our market.

Caleb Cage, Coordinator of the Nevada Battery Coalition, noted that 30% of the nation’s vehicles will be electric within a decade, a number he says grew from just 4% in 2020 and 14% in 2022. Cage helped launch the Nevada Battery Coalition earlier this year to provide support to the growing battery manufacturing industry in the state.

“The Nevada Battery Coalition represents the full lithium supply chain,” said Cage. “From rural to urban, whether the company is in the north or the south, each company has different interests, but we’re all focused on the same goal.”

Several companies currently doing business in the state did provide their reasons for choosing Nevada, including easy access to ports and raw materials.

“Lithion moved its headquarters to Henderson five years ago, mainly because southern Nevada has been the center of a relatively small integrated battery manufacturing community since the mid-90s,” said Jim Hodge, Vice President of Power Sources with Lithion, which produces battery storage systems. “This community of expertise in the area is what drove us to move here.”

The Silver State is home to 28 companies in the lithium battery economy, with more expressing interest every day. GOED also noted the industry employs nearly 20,000 employees throughout the state.

“There are seven stages of the lithium economy in Nevada,” said Potts. “Most of the jobs and the companies are in northern Nevada, but if you take out the extraction stage and look at the six other stages, five of those are represented in Clark County. There are actually more companies in Clark County than any other county once you take out the mining piece.”

Cage, with the Nevada Battery Coalition, says having one unified trade group will help grow battery manufacturing into one of the state’s leading industries.

“There are many different interests along the lithium supply chain, but the one unifying factor among all the companies in the coalition is the realization this could be a huge long-term industry for the state,” said Cage. “If we can speak collectively to the public and the policy makers, the entire industry will benefit in the long run.”

Officials say Nevada’s access to the full lithium loop and proximity to the mining of lithium and other rare earth materials gives it a huge advantage in attracting new companies.

“The projected growth curve of this industry over the next decade is 500%,” said Potts. “The question is, why wouldn’t you invest in this industry?”

Connect with our team to learn more about locating and growing your company in the Greater Las Vegas region.

More than 50 LVGEA investors and stakeholders attended the INSIGHT event. If you would like to learn more about investing with LVGEA, click here.