The Pima County (Tucson) Board of Supervisors Dec. 6 okayed a lease-purchase agreement with American Battery Factory to build a $1 billion battery manufacturing facility south of Raytheon in the County’s Aerospace Research Campus. The company expects to employ more than 1,000 people once the facility is fully constructed and operating.

American Battery officials expect to complete construction by 2026. The company plans to employ 60 workers with annual workforce expansions planned through 2028, and a total workforce of 1,000.

The average estimated annual salary the company plans to pay will be $65,000. American Battery also plans to invest $1.2 billion to construct and equip the manufacturing facility. The economic impact will be approximately $3 billion over 10 years.

The facility will support the battery industry, and other industries using semiconductors. This includes EV batteries, commercial use batteries, and retail use batteries.