(The Center Square) – Natron Energy, a California company planning a $1.4 billion plant in rural North Carolina, says on its company website operations ceased Wednesday.
Published reports in late July said the Santa Clara-headquartered company needed cash. To get incentive packages of $56.3 million from North Carolina and $129.6 million from Edgecombe County, jobs were necessary, and Natron had planned about 1,000.
Natron was a maker of “high-powered applications like AI, data centers, peak shaving and power quality management,” its website said. Employees of the company got an internal memo earlier this week letting them know of the changes.
Industry observers say it’s a setback to the sodium-ion technology that allows lithium-ion batteries to avoid mining and flammability challenges.
Politico reported the internal memo said in part, “We appreciate our customers and partners support through our journey, and this is not how we or anyone at Natron wanted this to end.”
In Edgecombe County, it cements a second headstone on the planned site. Triangle Tyre, a Chinese maker of tires, planned a $580 million investment and 800 jobs. It cited a focus on business needs in China three years ago when it pulled out of the deal.
Triangle Tyre had announced intentions in 2017. Natron’s announcement to come was in August 2024. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper led the celebrations for both.
