One Circle Gigafactory
Location
Project Size
Project Type
Manufacturing
KIRCO MANIX recently completed the Prototype Line at ONE Circle Gigafactory,
a 20 GWh battery factory for Our Next Energy (ONE), a Michigan-based battery
technology company. The facility encompasses a total of 659,000 square feet of
manufacturing space, making it one of the largest lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery
factories in the United States. The factory will focus on cell and battery manufacturing,
raw material refinement, and cathode materials production. Cells produced are fully
IRA compliant, requiring KIRCO MANIX to adhere to specific, permitted guidelines.
Careful consideration and attention to compliance standards during the build ensured
that the cells could be produced with safe and sustainable battery chemistries for EVs
and stationary storage solutions. KIRCO MANIX had to meticulously buildout the EV
Prototype Battery Line within the ISO Level 7 clean room, that met a <1% humidity level.
In addition to the Prototype Line and clean room, the facility’s construction scope of
service featured truck dock doors, maintenance areas, and raw material storage.
Project Challenges & Solutions
- In choosing to lease an existing 659,000 square foot precast building, previously utilized for large-scale shipping and receiving, this project’s scope was challenging from inception. Typically, an EV battery factory is built from the ground-up, providing for the specific, anticipated structural needs of a highlyregulated facility. KIRCO MANIX retrofitted the space to house mechanical functions atop the internal, 29,240 square foot chamber, despite having negligible space between the chamber roof and the core-building roof. Additionally, ONE required a clean/dry room with meticulously controlled temperatures and less than 1% humidity, despite the space not being originally designed for this process. In the pre-planning phase, the KIRCO MANIX team hired a full-time, on-site pipe penetration sealant representative to ensure this function was met throughout the entire process. By implementing this role, KIRCO MANIX mitigated the high risk of the project being paused or cancelled due to highlyregulated safety standards of production.
- Mid-project, the client requested a revised construction timeline from 32-weeks, an already aggressive timeline, to just 24-weeks.
KIRCO MANIX accommodated the shortened construction period with careful materials and labor timeline management. This meant
adjusting a 5-day-week schedule, to a 7-day-week schedule, and meticulously managing overtime, to keep costs as low as possible
for the client. KIRCO MANIX also prudently adjusted scheduling specific contract work, prioritizing the most necessary parameters,
such as the specialty flooring in the fastidiously designed clean/dry room.
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