Salem, OR – Today, U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06), along with Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), announced that the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has unanimously agreed to finance the construction of several new long-duration battery storage production lines at ESS Inc.’s Wilsonville facility. This $50 million investment is part of EXIM’s Make More in America (MMIA) Initiative and will support approximately 100 full-time, good-paying jobs in Oregon.
“I am so proud to see this new federal investment coming to Wilsonville. This funding will support local innovation and create approximately 100 full-time, good paying jobs right here in Oregon’s Sixth District,” said Rep. Salinas. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and I will keep fighting to deliver the resources they need to continue making more in America.”
“This fresh investment in ESS and Wilsonville proves yet again there’s a lot of green in the blue-collar jobs generated by clean energy innovation throughout Oregon,” Wyden said. “The new production lines this financing will support means more jobs in and around Wilsonville as well as more economic benefits rippling out statewide.”
“Oregon’s small businesses have a huge role in the success of our economy and communities, and we need to support their creative efforts to grow and thrive,” Merkley said. “I’ve seen at ESS Inc.’s Wilsonville facility just how their impressive operation is moving us forward to a clean energy future with long-duration, iron-flow batteries. Now, through EXIM’s Make More in America Initiative, ESS’ critical work is getting a supercharge to establish new productions lines and create many new, good-paying jobs in Oregon. This is just the kind of investments we need to ensure American manufacturing is globally competitive and a worldwide leader in energy transition.”
The $50 million financing package consists of a final commitment to finance two production lines in the immediate near term, plus a preliminary commitment to finance several additional production lines as ESS scales up its production capacity to meet customer demand. It will enable the tripling of the annual production capacity at ESS Tech’s Wilsonville facility that will be used to increase exports to Europe, Australia, and Africa. EXIM’s MMIA initiative is a domestic finance tool designed to unlock financing for American manufacturing, strengthen America’s global competitiveness, close critical supply chain gaps, and support American jobs.
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