The City of Chattanooga Industrial Development Board on April 7 authorized a real estate purchase and sale agreement, two lease agreements and related PILOT enrollment documents to enable Novonix Enterprise South LLC to develop roughly 182.39 acres in Enterprise South Industrial Park.

Staff described the action as a package that includes a real property lease, a personal property lease and a pilot agreement enabling a payment-in-lieu-of-ad-valorem-taxes arrangement; staff said this item was previously approved by the Chattanooga City Council on March 11 and Hamilton County Commission on March 12. The packet to the board included the State statute staff cited as authorizing the board to approve both the pilot and the accompanying leases.

Adam Myers, vice president of economic development with the Chattanooga Chamber, introduced Novonix representatives. Robert Long, chief financial officer and interim chief executive officer for Novonix, gave a project update. Long said Novonix earlier experienced sector headwinds that slowed equipment delivery and product qualification, and that the company laid off 19 employees in January 2025 and has rehired two. "We were affected by sector trends that slowed our planned progress," Long said.

Long said Novonix is currently paying 100% of the applicable taxes on the Riverside pilot and has not yet "affected that pilot" (i.e., altered the Riverside pilot arrangement). He described a $100,000,000 MESC (Department of Energy) grant awarded in November 2023 as active and said Novonix submits monthly reimbursement requests; Long also said the company received a conditional commitment from the Department of Energy loan program office for $754,000,000, which he described as a significant piece of project financing, and that Novonix is pursuing additional capital and customer off-take agreements. Long said Enterprise South phase 1 operating capacity is planned at about 31,500 tons per annum and that combined with Riverside would push total production to just over 50,000 tons per annum. He said Novonix expects to employ just over 500 workers in phase 1.

Long described off-take discussions and agreements with Stellantis, Powerco and Panasonic and a joint development agreement with LG Energy Solutions; he said product volume sold or under contract is in the tens of thousands of tons and that Novonix continues to pursue more customers. Long added the company has applied for a Department of Defense loan and should hear back within about a month.

Board members asked about markets, tariffs, local hiring and community engagement. Long said the majority of off-take demand is expected to supply U.S. manufacturing and that potential tariffs on imported synthetic graphite would boost domestic demand. He also described local workforce and education partnerships, including the Novonix Institute of Advanced Battery Technology at Lookout Valley Middle High School and ongoing engagement with Chattanooga State and UTC. On requests to report community engagement and local vendor usage, Long said Novonix could track vendor spend and report that information if staff or partners require it.

After presentation and brief questions, a motion to approve was made, seconded and adopted by voice vote.

Ending: The board’s authorization allows closing steps and enrollment in Tennessee’s voluntary cleanup and oversight assistance program with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation; Novonix and staff will proceed with required closing documents and implementation steps as described in the presentation.