FORT SMITH — A battery manufacturer has received a $30.7 million "cost-sharing" federal grant for a project at its Fort Smith facility to improve battery systems for U.S. Navy nuclear submarines.
Exide Technologies said Tuesday that it'd received the grant for Project Neptune, with renovations at the facility beginning this month and ending by August 2021.
The project is being funded by a five-year, cost-sharing agreement between the federal government and Exide. The government share is $18.7 million, and the Exide recipient share is $12 million.
Exide said the funding will automate and improve the battery production process at Fort Smith, including enhancements to quality control, automated data collection systems, new equipment and improved process flow, creating a state-of-the-art battery manufacturing facility.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.