Contact: Noah Barnes, Electrification Coalition
noah@electrification.org, (202) 461-2371
RENO—Regional leaders, industry experts, and community stakeholders recently gathered at the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce to spotlight the transformative impact of the electric vehicle (EV) industry on Northern Nevada’s economy. The event, titled Powering Prosperity: EVs are Driving Northern Nevada’s Economic & Job Boom, highlighted the region’s emergence as a national hub for EV innovation, manufacturing, and workforce development.
With over $15.6 billion in private investment and more than 13,500 jobs created across the EV supply chain, Nevada is rapidly becoming the epicenter of America’s domestic EV industry, thanks in part to the region’s unique access to critical minerals, including North America’s largest active lithium deposit.
Quotes from the event:
Ed Lawson, Mayor, City of Sparks: “Right now, most of that mineral processing power sits in one country: China. They’ve shown their willingness to use access to these resources as leverage, and that puts us and our security at risk… Critical minerals can be recycled almost infinitely. That means northern Nevada isn’t just the beginning of the supply chain. We are positioned to be the loop that closes it. Processing, reprocessing, reusing right here, what many refer to now as the “lithium loop,” a vertically integrated, clean energy corridor anchored by Reno-Sparks and stretching across Northern Nevada. We are at the center of America’s new energy economy.”
Neal McIntyre, Mayor, City of Fernley: “As you already know, Northern Nevada has become a magnet for high-tech companies—just look out toward the new Victory Logistics industrial park, and you’ll see the impact. Companies like Tesla and Panasonic have chosen this region not only for our open and available spaces and great logistics potential, but I truly believe it is because we’ve got a workforce that’s honest, hardworking, and ready to roll up their sleeves. This new industry means more than just making cars: it means producing batteries, building infrastructure, creating software, and supporting supply chains. And that means good-paying jobs in manufacturing, logistics, and skilled trades that can keep our young people from having to leave Fernley to build their futures. And I can’t stress enough how important that is on how we keep our community strong.”
Nicole Cook, Chief of Staff, Panasonic Energy Company of North America: “We came to Northern Nevada in 2015 and we have grown alongside the community over the past 10 years. We began mass production of our battery cells in 2017 and celebrated shipping out 1 billion cells in early 2019. And just last year, we celebrated production of our 10-billionth battery cell. We are one of the largest lithium-ion battery factories in the world, because of the support and backing of the Northern Nevada community and our 4,000-plus employees who call Northern Nevada home.”
Ann Silver, CEO, Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce: “When I started almost ten years ago, the first two partners were Panasonic and Tesla, and they have shown to themselves to be not only community partners, but chamber partners, and companies that are giving back to our community, not just in terms of jobs, but future careers for individuals. Particularly those individuals who may not pursue a college degree, but may go on to a technical training school, achieve their high school education, and participate in workforce development training, to make them independent individuals who could support themselves, their families, and contribute back to the community.”
Dr. Jeffrey Alexander, President, Truckee Meadows Community College: “Our teams train students who are already workers, especially, importantly, in this space. We are not attracting recruits to become students to become graduates. These people who come to us in this space, the manufacturing space, already have jobs. They show up with employment, they show up with a salary, with benefits, and so forth, and we train their workers to be apprentices. We do this in a manner that gets them from zero to 60, very, very quickly.”
Caleb Cage, Executive Director, Nevada Battery Coalition: “Critical minerals and battery storage are also critical to the way our nation leads its military and critical national security missions around the world. And that’s not just in terms of deploying troops, but also supporting soldiers. I’m an Army person, so I’ll say, I always go to soldiers, sailors, airmen and women, and Marines around the world, supporting them in often remote and secluded locations with battery power that they need in order to continue their mission. And that poses a very difficult situation for the United States of America, because while we rely on these critical minerals for our national security and national defense, we don’t produce many of them here in the United States. China controls the majority of these minerals.”
Richard Bartholet, Regional Innovation Officer, Nevada Tech Hub, University of Nevada, Reno: “Electrification benefits national security, it benefits economic security, it benefits our state economy in terms of diversification. If you’re in a state like Nevada, which does not produce fossil fuels, every time you fill up a gas tank, you’re exporting money. And so if we can be in a state that is producing renewable energy and has batteries and so forth to utilize that renewable energy, it’s actually a form of import substitution and it’s beneficial to the state economy.”
Suzanne Groneman, Environmental Services Manager, City of Reno: “We brought an electric Chevy Blazer outside. It will be a police car very soon… Vehicles like that are ideal for fleets of our size, for trades, and small businesses. That vehicle gets a 290-mile range, so that’s pretty good for our fleet.”
Aaron Viles, Senior Director of Campaigns, Electrification Coalition: “EVs are truly powering prosperity for the region, and the economic success of this region has been really pinned to the success of the entire supply chain. Nevada is uniquely situated within a global competition. There’s a competition among states, too. So it really is important that as we think about the future, we think about the role EVs are playing, and welcome that role and lean into that role.”
Additional photos and interviews are available by request.
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About the Electrification Coalition: The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes policies and actions to facilitate the widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) on a mass scale to overcome the economic, public health and national security challenges that stem from America’s dependence on oil. ElectrificationCoalition.org
