Ohio regulators approved tax breaks Monday for two very different employers expecting to add nearly 760 jobs between them: a South Korean battery manufacturer setting up shop near Jeffersonville and Walmart building a massive new distribution center in Turtlecreek Township. Together, the projects represent about $56.63 million in combined new annual payroll.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority signed off on the incentives September 28, 2026, as part of a broader package covering five projects statewide, according to the Springfield News-Sun. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s office said the Authority approved the tax breaks as part of an incentive round the governor’s office says will generate over $79 million in new annual payroll statewide, according to the Office of Governor Mike DeWine, alongside more than $431 million in total capital investments. Statewide, the five projects are expected to create 1,173 new jobs and protect 601 existing ones, per the same account.
Sebang’s First U.S. Plant Lands in Fayette County
Sebang Lithium Battery Ohio LLC expects to create 443 full-time-equivalent positions and generate more than $37.1 million in new annual payroll at a proposed Fayette County project, the News-Sun reported. The company would produce lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles, forklifts, and other vehicles, and the project would establish Sebang’s first U.S. facility, making energy storage system modules and battery packs. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 2.003% job-creation tax credit for the project, which Sebang may claim against new Ohio payroll at the site for 10 years, with the jobs expected by December 31, 2029.
A Korean media outlet reported in June that Sebang Lithium Battery would establish an Ohio subsidiary, and that it plans to produce battery modules for LG Energy Solution’s grid-scale energy storage system products. That shift tracks with a broader pivot underway next door in Jeffersonville, where LG Energy Solution and Honda Motor Co. redirected their joint venture’s initial production strategy in mid-2026 from electric vehicle battery cells toward stationary energy storage systems packaged by LG Energy Solution Vertech.
A Battery Ecosystem Already Taking Shape
Honda and LG Energy invested more than $4.4 billion to build a 2-million-square-foot EV battery plant in Jeffersonville, which launched production in summer 2026, per the News-Sun’s reporting. That facility, known as L-H Battery Company, is a $4.4 billion joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Honda that officially began mass production of lithium-ion battery cells on July 1, 2026, according to the Record-Herald, with plans to scale from more than 1,000 current employees to 2,200 full-time associates at full capacity…