A new plant that will process graphite, which is critical for electric vehicle batteries, broke ground in Coosa County Tuesday.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, along with other state and local leaders, held the groundbreaking ceremony for the plant, which is owned by Alabama Graphite Products, LLC, a subsidiary of Westwater Resources, Inc.

The plant is being built in the Lake Martin Regional Industrial Park in Kellyton, near Alexander City. It will process raw graphite into refined, battery-grade graphite, which is a key component in lithium-ion batteries, as well as a conductivity enhancer for all types of batteries, including the common lead-acid batteries in traditional vehicles.

An initial investment of $80 million or more will be spent to build the plant. A second phase of the project will push the total investment to $124 million. It is expected to create around 100 jobs the Tallapoosa and Coosa county areas that pay an average of $21.15 per hour.

The batteries found in an average EV need about 175-200 pounds of graphite. When it becomes fully operational, the plant is expected to produce 7,500 metric tons of refined graphite each year.