Our news partner KFDM in Beaumont is reporting that a company that could employ hundreds of people may be looking at Silsbee, in nearby Hardin County as a home for their new battery recycling operation.
Word is that Ace Green Recycling, a global battery recycling company, is considering a location on FM 92, north of Silsbee, and that officials in Hardin County might be contemplating a tax abatement to make it happen.
"We are going to invest about $25 million dollars into phase one of the project. We will be recycling about 30,000 metric tons of batteries per year," said Vipin Tyagi, a co-founder of Ace Green Recycling, during a tax abatement hearing at the Hardin County Commissioners Court.
Tyagi explained that the first phase of the project would create approximately 70 full-time jobs, with potential expansion to around 200 positions as the plant reaches full capacity.
Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel said the county is considering a five-year tax abatement, possibly starting with a 50% reduction in the first year and gradually decreasing to zero.
Some critics have raised concerns about battery recycling plants in general, potential fire hazards and the risk of hazardous chemicals contaminating waterways. However, Tyagi assured that the company's focus is on pollution-free recycling technologies. "The core focus is to develop technologies that we can recycle batteries without pollution. So, at heart our process does not generate any pollution," he said.
https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_270bed68-ff36-11ef-b1ca-6728b0f18b71.html