Edgecombe County has the third-highest unemployment rate in the state and a declining population, but community leaders hope a new manufacturer will help reverse its economic woes.
Natron Energy, an international industrial battery manufacturer, plans to bring more than 1,000 jobs and an investment of $1.4 billion to Edgecombe County with a “gigafactory” at Kingsboro Business Park, midway between Rocky Mount and Tarboro.
Natron’s plant will manufacture sodium-ion batteries, a source of clean energy that can be used to power AI data centers and electric vehicle charging stations.
The average wage for jobs at the factory is expected to be $64,071, a figure which sits $17,000 above the county’s current average wage. These jobs include manufacturing and management roles, engineers, and machine technicians and operators.
“Anytime there’s an industry, manufacturer, or business to come in, that’s a positive thing,” Princeville mayor Bobbie Jones told Carolina Public Press. “However, I do not get too excited until I see the building going up.”
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Princeville is a small town in Edgecombe County directly across the Tar River from county seat Tarboro. Princeville purports to be the oldest town in America chartered by freed slaves. But in recent years, Princeville and many surrounding areas have repeatedly been devastated by flooding on the Tar River. The area could use an economic boost.
Jones’s trust in companies’ promises to Edgecombe County was tarnished when railroad company CSX downsized its promised investment in the county in 2017. His remaining trust was obliterated when Triangle Tire, the last company to lay claim to Kingsboro Business Park, pulled out of its plans completely in 2022.
Natron’s investment offers news promise for the job-starved areas and represents the continued growth of the clean energy sector in North Carolina’s economy.
“Since the Inflation Reduction Act, North Carolina has seen $19.6 billion in announced investments and 10,571 jobs announced in just the past two years in the clean energy ecosystem,” Matt Abele, executive director of the NC Clean Energy Association, told CPP.
“The state is actually a national leader in clean energy manufacturing and deployment: we are a part of the battery belt.”
Sodium-ion batteries do not generate energy themselves, but rather store energy created by other technologies, such as wind and solar. Battery storage is key to the viability of renewable power, particularly in the high-usage context of a data center, according to Abele. These batteries can be used as a backup source of power when grids are down.
Because they rely on sodium rather than lithium, lead, or other hard-to-access and sometimes toxic minerals, sodium-ion batteries are branded as a more environmentally and socially responsible battery alternative.
“Natron manufactures a distinct type of sodium-ion battery that stores energy in the form of sodium ions — salt ions, also found in ocean water — in a material called Prussian blue,” Natron Energy spokesperson Thomas Parks told CPP in an email.
“Our patented Prussian blue electrodes store and transfer sodium-ions faster and with lower internal resistance than any other commercial battery on the market today.”
Construction on Natron Energy’s gigafactory will begin in March. According to Oppie Jordan, vice president of Carolinas Gateway Partnership, a Rocky Mount-based organization dedicated to the economic development of Edgecombe County, construction on the 1.2 million square foot facility will take more than a year.
In the meantime, Natron will start training programs at Edgecombe Community College to get the workforce in the county up to speed.
“ECC (Edgecombe Community College) is excited about the opportunity to lead the efforts in preparing the workforce for this company and the clean energy industry,” ECC President Greg McLeod told CPP in an email.
“Knowing that workers will come from all over northeastern NC, we will partner with other area colleges and universities to provide the high-quality training that these workers will need to excel with this new company. We are in the process now of working with Natron Energy, Edgecombe County, and our educational partners to plan the training that is needed.”
Workforce training at Edgecombe Community College and other institutions will be key. “A facility of this size and scope will require a whole host of backgrounds, skill sets, and expertise, throughout their entire supply chain and operations, from front office employees to manufacturing-line employees,” Abele said.
“They will leverage all the different skill-sets coming out of the community colleges and the university systems. These are going to be well-paying jobs in this community.”
Natron Energy spokesperson Parks told CPP that Edgecombe County’s “fast-growing population of well-educated, highly-skilled workforce” was a deciding factor in Natron Energy’s choice of Kingsboro Business Park. However, the county’s population is declining year-over-year, and those who do stay sport below-average high school graduation and degree-attainment rates.
“If you’re familiar with Edgecombe County, we’re at the top of the negative list of all the negative categories for the state of North Carolina in terms of health issues, in terms of education and workforce development, and housing,” Princeville mayor Jones told CPP.
But officials in the county do have hope.
“I believe this is a transformational project,” Jordan told CPP. She has been working with Natron Energy on this project for nine months already. Carolinas Gateway Partnership is responsible for recruiting the company to the area. According to Parks, Natron Energy screened more than 70 sites across the country before selecting Kingsboro Business Park.
“It will give people good jobs, and most importantly, it will help keep our young people here in Edgecombe County,” Jordan said.
Both Jordan and Mayor Jones emphasized the necessity of providing young people with a reason to stay in Edgecombe County.
“We have great people here,” Jones said. “We have great facilities. We just need the support that the (Triangle area) gets so our children want to grow up and stay right here. This is a step in the right direction, but we have a long way to go.”
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