“We want to be a center of excellence in this field. We feel like we have all the pieces of the puzzle in the right place with the Flagship, land and labor source that we have in Anderson. We have all the pieces in place to make this happen. I do believe it’s starting to happen.”

Bill Wylam, who has been involved with the electrification of the vehicle since he helped develop GM’s first electric car in the 1990s, said companies like Altairnano and Bright Automotive already had been drawn to the city from Nevada and Colorado, respectively.

“The human capital that exists in the Anderson area, there are people and companies that understand electricity and batteries and motors and automotive systems,” he said. “If you go to Bright Automotive, you’ll see some of those people today. You’ll see Hoosiers that have gone to work there that have these skills, and you will see people from Michigan, Ohio and Colorado that have been attracted to come here because of that program.

“They’ve agreed Anderson must be a good place to work.”

Evan House, vice president of advanced battery systems for Bright, said his company had faith in Anderson.

“Anderson is just the ideal place,” he said. “It’s an almost perfect storm to put an identity of this nature in Anderson. I’d like to see the Anderson area and the I-69 corridor become the electric corridor of America.”

The value of the electric auto

Developing electric automobiles and their components isn’t just about jobs for Anderson, although Bright Automotive could bring as many as 3,000-5,000 primary jobs back to the city if it locates its manufacturing plant here. The development is also about leading the way toward a greener future with less dependency on foreign oil.

“The whole petroleum debate has gotten to the point we’re looking for an alternative to internal combustion,” Sparks said. “I think it has turned the corner to be practical and could be widely available in the next three to eight years. I think we’re going to see some pretty dramatic changes in transportation.”

Sparks said car companies experimented with electric vehicles in the 1920s, but they were based on lead-acid batteries, which are heavy and impractical. Now, companies like Altairnano and Bright are developing smaller, more powerful lithium-ion batteries that would make driving an electric vehicle more energy efficient than its ancestors.

“Lithium batteries contain more energy; they tend to be lighter and they tend to be more compact,” House said. “Lithium batteries are capable of just as much power (as lead-acid). Without the battery, you couldn’t have the electric vehicle.”

House said lead-acid batteries also would take longer than lithium batteries to charge.

Staley said, at current rates, electric vehicles would save their owners money if gas cost more than $1.60.

The savings would make the vehicles a smart option, Sparks said.