Rendering courtesy Clayco
After a pause, EV producer says it will restart construction of its manufacturing plant in Georgia in 2026.
Electric vehicle maker Rivian is preparing to resume work on its paused $5-billion manufacturing plant in Social Circle, Ga., according to the company.
The manufacturer scheduled a ceremonial groundbreaking for September and is on track to begin construction next year, company representative Peebles Squire says. The startup will still use its originally selected contractor, Clayco, for the job.
The plan calls for a 16-million-sq-ft manufacturing plant on an 1,800-acre campus. It will be built in two phases, each adding production capacity for 200,000 vehicles, Squire says.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) originally announced Rivian’s plan to build the plant in 2021. In 2023, the company said it selected Chicago-based Clayco to build the facility, along with Jacobs as engineer and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as design architect. But last year, shortly after Rivian revealed a $5.4-billion loss over its prior fiscal year, the company said it would pause the project and produce an upcoming SUV at its existing plant in Normal, Ill., instead of at the Georgia facility.
A few months later, Rivian announced it would build a $1.5-billion expansion on the Illinois plant.
In January, Rivian closed a loan agreement with the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Loan Programs Office for up to $6.6 billion to support the Georgia project, on top of an incentive package from Georgia worth $1.5 billion. Under terms of an economic development agreement with the state, Rivian must invest at least $5 billion and create 7,500 full-time jobs by the end of 2030.
Last month, Rivian also announced it would open an East Coast headquarters office in Atlanta, in addition to the manufacturing campus about 40 miles east of the city. That office is scheduled to open this year, with an expansion to follow.
Rivian’s Georgia manufacturing plant is set to begin production in 2028, Squire says.
James Leggate is an online news editor at ENR. He has reported on a variety of issues for more than 10 years and his work has contributed to several regional Associated Press Media Editors and Murrow award wins.