Form Factory 1

REVITALIZING THE WEIRTON STEEL SITE FOR BATTERY MANUFACTURING IN WEST VIRGINIA

Form Factory 1 is Form Energy’s first high-volume battery manufacturing facility located in Weirton, West Virginia at the site of the former Weirton Steel plant. The facility will ultimately employ more than 750 people and will have an annual production capacity of 500 megawatts of batteries when operating at full capacity.

FORM FACTORY 1 CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE

~May 2023
~June 2023
~July 2023
~Sept 2023
~Dec 2023
~Mid-to-late 2024
~Early 2025
Break ground
Start foundations
Install steel structure
Start utilities construction
Building dried-in
Start operations
Begin next phase expansion

Jobs at

Form Factory 1

We have started hiring to support the Form Factory 1 design, engineering, and build, and expect to ramp up the hiring of the following types of jobs for Form Factory 1 in Weirton starting in late 2023. We will share information about local job fairs and hiring events on this webpage closer to that time. Please stay tuned for more information and sign up for our mailing list to be notified about upcoming hiring events!

Types of Jobs that We’ll Be Hiring For at Form Factory 1

Local Business Opportunities

Form Energy endeavors to use local labor, contractors and service providers when possible. Please tell us about your business by filling out an expression of interest form.

Latest News About Form Factory 1

Form Factory 1 Groundbreaking Video

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Pittsburgh-based Massaro Construction Group is the project general contractor of Form Factory 1, with several major subcontractors providing specific services. For instance,Stantec is the architect and engineering discipline lead, the Thrasher Group is providing site and civil engineering and testing services, and TerraCon is providing geotechnical engineering and environmental consulting services.
  • Form Energy endeavors to use local labor, contractors and service providers when possible and has requested that all construction bidders include union labor, when possible. Please tell us about your business by filling out an expression of interest form.
  • We are in close contact with the West Virginia Department of Economic Development on our plans for hiring and they have provided us with visibility into training programs and local schools and institutions.
  • We are exploring an apprenticeship program with the West Virginia Northern Community College in the future and members of our team serve on their newly formed Campus Advisory Council to help develop curriculum for our employment training needs.
  • We are currently hiring a full-time Community Engagement & Workforce Development Manager to manage our workforce development and community engagement programs.
  • We have started hiring to support the Form Factory 1 design, construction as well as infrastructure, industrial and manufacturing engineering, and expect to ramp up additional hiring for Form Factory 1 starting in early to mid-2024.
  • We are also actively hiring equipment engineers, controls engineers, process engineers to support our advanced pilot manufacturing at our Eighty Four, PA location, as well as manufacturing associates and New Product Introduction Engineers who will take our initial iron-air battery system and scale it for market use. Several of these roles will transfer full-time to Form Factory 1 when it’s up and running.
  • A core part of our company ethos and approach to sustainable business is to be a great neighbor and responsible steward of the community.
  • We have chosen to site our first factory on the former Weirton Steel facility, a dormant brownfield location that has been in need of redevelopment for decades. By building  on a brownfield site, we avoid disrupting or eliminating an existing natural ecosystem, which would happen with a greenfield construction.  Constructing a new advanced manufacturing facility and creating jobs meets the goals of the West Virginia Voluntary Remediation Program and US EPA Corrective Action programs for the site, a process that began in the late 1980s with environmental site characterization remediation activities.
  • The active components of our iron-air battery system are some of the safest, cheapest, and most abundant materials on the planet — low-cost iron, water, and air.
  • Form Factory 1, along with our advanced manufacturing processes, are being designed with cutting edge sustainable engineering principles, including waste heat recovery, high rate water recycling, capture and reuse of byproducts and waste streams where possible to minimize the carbon emissions intensity of our product.
  • We expect Form Factory 1 to be classified as a minor emissions source for air emissions as we continue to refine our design of our advanced manufacturing processes and control technologies. We recently applied for an air permit with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) and expect stakeholder outreach meetings to be held before the end of the year as part of the standard permitting process.
  • All permits required by the City of Weirton, State of West Virginia and the U.S. EPA have been or will be obtained; we are striving to exceed all local, state and federal environmental regulations as part of Form Energy’s primary mission to help tackle climate change.
  • Yes, we applied for an air permit with the WVDEP and expect stakeholder outreach meetings to be held before the end of the year as part of the permitting process. At that time, we will be able to share more information about our advanced manufacturing processes, emissions, and control technologies.