Gov. Beshear touts EV industry and South Korean connection as Janet Yellen visits Kentucky

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — To U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new Kentucky electric vehicle battery parts manufacturing facility in Hardin County represented a U.S. economy that's working for the middle class.

Yellen was in Elizabethtown with Gov. Andy Beshear to help open the new Advanced Nano Products manufacturing plant. The company plans to produce parts for EV batteries at the nearly $50 million facility, located near Ford's $5.8 billion BlueOval SK EV battery plant under construction in Glendale.

State and company leaders announced the investment in August 2022, with Beshear noting the project would eventually support 93 full-time jobs for Kentucky residents with average hourly wages of $40, including benefits.

Yellen pitched the project as evidence that her work alongside President Joe Biden to create "pathways to and opportunity for the middle class in America" is working.

"America’s growth isn’t meaningful if the gains are not shared, and a strong middle class will continue to lead our future," she said.

A growing electric vehicle economy

Advanced Nano Products' new plant may not be as significant as the BlueOval SK plant, which was unveiled in 2021 as the largest job-creation announcement in Kentucky history and is on schedule to open its first portion in 2025.

But Beshear said the company is a vital piece to a growing sector of the state's economy.

Since 2020, he said, Kentucky has landed over $11.6 billion in investments into the EV industry, with expectations of more than 10,000 jobs created as a result. Battery factories like BlueOval SK and ANP have laid the groundwork, Beshear said — one next step is bringing in other electric vehicle manufacturers and expanding into other parts of the commonwealth.

"Hopefully, we'll be the leader overall, not just batteries. We want the whole thing right here in Kentucky," Beshear said. "You look at I-65 and the fact that it is now the EV battery alley, we want to make sure we extend that to other parts of our state, as well."

Another EV battery factory has been under construction near Bowling Green since 2022, a $2 billion facility expected to create 2,000 jobs. Toyota, meanwhile, said last month it plans to invest $1.3 billion in an EV factory in Georgetown, where the company operates a massive manufacturing plant.

Beshear said another key is opening more charging stations across the state, as concerns about battery life and the ability to charge on the go have been cited as key factors that concern potential EV buyers.

"We are less than a year away, I think, from having a charging station in Kentucky at least every 50 miles on every one of our interstates and parkways," he said. "This infrastructure is coming, and it is coming fast.

The South Korean connection

Beshear and Yellen weren't the only speakers at Wednesday's event. They were joined by ANP CEO Changwoo Park and Hyundong Cho, South Korea's ambassador to the U.S.

Beshear noted ANP has been in business for more than 20 years in South Korea but chose Kentucky for its first facility in the U.S., and Park said the company is hoping to expand locally, as BlueOval SK is the company's "most important customer."

SK On, the company partnering with Ford on the BlueOval SK facility, is also based out of South Korea. And Beshear was cheered by the crowd when he noted he hopes to open an economic development office in that overseas nation.

Cho said Kentucky and South Korea share common interests, joking both have a taste for fried chicken and bourbon.

"We are both known for our music — you created Bluegrass, we created K-pop," he said. "... But more importantly, we share the same commitment to create an environment that welcomes high-technology businesses with a commitment to address our society's most pressing issues."

Beshear said he believes Kentucky and South Korea share a bright future together, recalling a conversation he had with the ambassador where he thanked him for "billions of dollars of direct foreign investment from the Republic of Korea."

"I said, 'Thank you," Beshear said. "... And he looks at me and said, 'There's a lot more coming.'"

Treasury secretary addresses ongoing inflation concerns

Yellen, 77, has served as U.S. treasury secretary throughout Biden's time in office. She previously served as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014-18.

Rising inflation rates have been an issue during her time in the role, and while that figure has dropped significantly since its peak in mid-2022, the Labor Department’s latest consumer price index found rates have fluctuated in the past year.

Yellen spent much of her time at the podium touting Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and efforts to bolster the U.S. economy. And in remarks afterward to reporters in Elizabethtown, the secretary said purchasing power for families has risen recently in comparison to rates while inflation was higher, though prices on most goods still remain higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Of course, many households face costs that are truly burdensome," she said. "That said, inflation has come down two thirds, and I believe that continues to be on a downward trend."

Reach Lucas Aulbach at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Janet Yellen, Andy Beshear talk inflation, Kentucky electric vehicles