Governor Andy Beshear was in western Kentucky Monday afternoon, and made a stop in Hopkinsville to announce that Ascend Elements is coming to Hopkinsville with a $310 million investment that will create 250 new jobs.
Ascened Elements Inc. is a producer of advanced, sustainable battery materials made from recycled lithium-ion batteries—Governor Beshear says this is the single largest economic development project in Christian County’s history and it speaks well of Hopkinsville that it was chosen to house the 450,000 square foot facility. It would be in Commerce Park 2 and the governor says it will make the city part of the automotive industry of the future.
Mayor Wendell Lynch says this is the result of a lot of discussion and partnership, and he’s excited to see how the commerce park and the city continues to grow.
The location known as Apex 1 is just part of phase one of the project—future phases could increase the investment to $1 billion and create a total of 400 full-time jobs, which would be the company’s largest U.S. operation.
Governor Beshear also announced $2 million in funding for the Christian County Water District. That’s on top of an already approved $1 million for the project and the additional money will allow the project to be fully funded. Christian County Water District Chair Ashbel Brunson says it will expand service to unserved and underserved people in the county.
There was also an amount of $107,561 to Christian County for a project to repave a portion of Witty Lane using modified rubber asphalt that is more crack resistant, and Governor Beshear also highlighted the $13.8 million grant to Hopkinsville Electric System and Pennyrile Rural Electric Cooperative to help expand fiber internet access to Caldwell, Christian, Lyon, Todd and Trigg counties.
In return, Brunson presented Governor Beshear with a donation of $3,000 from local citizens, to go support those struggling to recover in the wake of the devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky.