By Jerry Nowicki
The Illinois government Tuesday this week announced the award of the first electric vehicle manufacturing-targeted tax incentives made possible by a law signed by governor JB Pritzker last year.
The incentives come from the Reimagining Electric Vehicles (REV) Act, which passed nearly unanimously and became law in November 2021, and will provide an estimated $2.2 million in value to T/CCI Manufacturing in Decatur.
The REV Act passed two months after the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act which incentivizes EV adoption, driving Pritzker’s vision to make Illinois “the best place in North America to drive and manufacture an electric vehicle.”
T/CCI’s Decatur plant manufactures compressors for gasoline-powered cars. The Company plans to retool the Decatur facility to produce compressors for EVs with an estimated $20 million investment. T/CCI makes EV compressors, a part which cools batteries and powers car air conditioning systems, in China and India.
Pritzker and local lawmakers said the manufacturing of EV parts domestically is necessary to work around supply chain issues.
“Thanks to the REV Act, Illinois beat out international competition to bring this deal home,” Pritzker said. “That means new jobs and jobs that would have gone overseas are staying right here.”
T/CCI’s transition will create 50 new jobs, while 103 existing jobs are expected to be retained.
The REV Act’s incentives are targeted to the manufacturers of EVs and their parts, such as compressors. The companies receiving the breaks can receive a state income tax credit of 75% or 100% of payroll taxes withheld from each new employee and 25% or 50% for current employees. The law also provides a 10% credit for training expenses.
The infrastructure money would go toward a climatic simulation center on T/CCI’s Decatur campus which will allow the testing of new EV-related technologies in extreme environments.
Pritzker said the community college partnership is one he would like to emulate in communities across the State, pointing to a partnership between the EV manufacturer Rivian and Heartland Community College in Normal.
— Capitol News Illinois