After receiving $1.6 billion in federal loans aimed at creating or retooling factories for green car production, Nissan has confirmed that it will use its chunk of the government’s loan to build a lithium ion battery plant near its Smyrna, Tennessee, factory. Nissan will also retool part of its truck assembly plant to build four-door electric sedans.
Nissan says it is unsure if it will manage the battery plant on its own, or if it will have an outside partner handle operations.
Typically, automakers have bought batteries from suppliers, so the Nissan plant marks a significant departure from the norm.
The new plant will be about 1 million square feet, the automaker told journalists. It is expected to open in the first or second quarter of 2010.
