Yuma County may see a new solar-powered cobalt production facility in the next two years.
Officials with EVelution Energy, a Yuma-based company, announced that they received a non-binding letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for a loan of up to $200 million to "fund the construction and operation of its solar-powered cobalt production facility in Yuma County, Arizona."
EVelution Energy officials say cobalt is a mineral used in applications and equipment in the aerospace and defense industries and in energy transition. More than 75 percent of the world’s refined cobalt is being produced in China and there are no commercial-scale cobalt processing facilities in the U.S.
EVelution officials say the facility, planned to be built in eastern Yuma County, will generate more than $750 million in economic activity and create more than 3,000 new jobs.
Officials say construction is expected to start in 2025 and be fully operational by 2027 when it is expected to be able to domestically produce 20-40 percent of estimated cobalt demand in the U.S.