Battery maker Amprius details Brighton factory plans

Company touts safety as they prepare for city, state reviews

BY SCOTT TAYLOR

Amprius Technologies, the Fremont, Calif.-based lithium-ion battery manufacturer that plans to occupy an empty warehouse in Brighton, has already talked about how much they plan to invest in the community and how many jobs they plan to bring.

But one question they’ve been answering lately is how safe their operation will be. Company CEO Kang Sun said he wants to assure Brighton the factory will be safe.

“ is is a highly regulated industry and we cannot a ord to make any error,” Sun said. “One big error and our company will be gone. So we are taking this very, very seriously for our employees, our labor groups and our neighbors.” e company announced in March its intention to occupy the empty former Sears/KMart distribution center on Bromley Lane, setting up their new lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in the 775,000-square-foot building. eir rst phase would create 332 net new jobs in Brighton with an average annual wage of $68,516.

Amprius plans to invest $190 million, including a $50 million cost-sharing grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s O ce of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains.

Andrew Huie, Amprius’ vice president of infrastructure, said the company still needs zoning approval from the City of Brighton and permits from the Colorado Department of