South Carolina's Record-Breaking Year

In 2022, South Carolina saw record-breaking capital investment. Throughout the year, the South Carolina Department of Commerce announced $10.27 billion in capital investment across 120 projects, accounting for over 14,000 new jobs statewide.

Many of the state’s top investments are from the emerging electric vehicle industry, which experienced over $6.27 billion in capital investments and the creation of over 3,300 new jobs since Governor Henry McMaster’s Electric Vehicle Summit, and subsequent executive order supporting the industry’s growth, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) throughout the state saw exponential growth, up 371% over 2021. Overall, domestically based companies accounted for the majority of capital investment for the year, at just over 60%.

The state’s top projects, in order of capital investment, include:

• Redwood Materials, an anode and cathode battery component producer and battery recycler, announced its decision to establish a closed-loop battery life cycle operation in Berkeley County. At $3.5 billion, the announcement marks the single largest in South Carolina’s history and will create 1,500 new jobs.
• BMW Manufacturing announced a $1.7 billion expansion to its Plant Spartanburg operations to support its new electric vehicle production, including a $700 million investment to create a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in nearby Woodruff, S.C.
• Envision AESC, a global electric vehicle battery technology company, announced the selection of Florence County for its new gigafactory, the first in the state. The $810 million investment will create 1,170 new jobs and includes the development of a new training center, supporting the company’s multi-year partnership with BMW Group.
• Nucor Corporation’s Berkeley County facility expansion announcement included a $425 million investment creating 50 new jobs, building upon the facility's galvanization line. This investment was one of the company’s two major expansion announcements in under a month.
• Kontrolmatik Technologies announced the selection of Colleton County for a production facility of its subsidiary, Pomega Energy Storage Technologies. The facility will product grid-scale lithium-ion battery cells and containerized energy storage solutions in a $279 million investment, set to create 575 new jobs in the Tier III county.

“South Carolina’s 2022 industry recruitment is not only one for the record books, but it also reinforces that our state is leading this transformational time in business,” said Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III. “We are cultivating an increasingly diverse, technologically advanced economy that will continue to create opportunities for our citizens for generations to come.”

The state will look to continue the past year’s momentum in 2023, targeting high-growth, high-potential industries that create and advance economic opportunities for all South Carolinians.