Chinese battery maker Gotion Inc. has reached an agreement with Green Charter Township after a two-year federal court battle.
The company will officially walk away from its plans to develop a $2.4 billion battery plant in the Big Rapids area and will drop its $24 million lawsuit against the small township in the Big Rapids area.
In exchange, the Michigan Strategic Fund will release its demands for Gotion to repay state subsidies it used to help kickstart the project.
Green Charter Township will release $160,000 it has held related to the battery plant, according to Township Supervisor John Kruse.
The battery plant was projected to bring over 2,300 jobs to the area, but township officials revoked a water permit for the project because of the company's public ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Caldoina, represents Mecosta County and is chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Since the company proposed its plan in 2022, he has been an avid critic of any development.
"While it is unfortunate Michigan taxpayers will not receive restitution from the state subsidies Gotion refused to pay back, I am pleased the community can now rest knowing they stopped the CCP from getting a foothold in their small town," Moolenaar wrote in a statement to WCMU.
Kruse said the agreement has been signed by both parties but is still being finalized.
