READY TO GROW — Form Energy, on Monday, announced its plans to expand Form Factory 1, with construction set to begin in the coming days. The project, scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, will include the razing of the old Weirton Steel Stock Building, pictured to the right of Form Factory 1. -- Contributed

WEIRTON — Only a few weeks after celebrating its Weirton-based manufacturing facility moving into trial production, Form Energy announced Monday it is time to grow even more.

Construction on Form Factory 1 – Form Energy’s high-volume manufacturing facility – began in May 2023, with celebrations of its completion held in September. Company officials announced Monday construction to expand the complex is set to begin in the coming days.

“We are excited to begin expanding Form Factory 1, which will allow us to build even more iron-air batteries to support America’s future electric grid,” said Ted Wiley, co-founder, president and COO. “We’re especially proud to do this from the site of the former Weirton Steel mill, which was once one of the largest steel producers in the world and shaped the America we know today. At Form Energy, we carry the responsibility and the privilege of looking towards the future while honoring the past – and we plan to continue carrying this with us as we embark on this next chapter for Form Factory 1.”

The expansion, which Form Energy officials anticipate being complete by the end of 2025, will allow the company to scale-up production and delivery of its iron-air battery and hire more employees.

The company previously set a goal of having 750 workers at the Weirton factory by 2028.

The announcement also follows an award of up to $150 million, through the U.S. Department of Energy, made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The funding was announced Sept. 20 by Form Energy co-founder and CEO Mateo Jaramillo, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and Energy Department officials in a video conference with West Virginia media.

Form Factory 1 is located on a 55-acre site where portions of the Weirton Steel mill once stood.

Before beginning construction on the initial Form Factory 1 facility, a site assessment was performed, and the area was cleared of any unsafe structures from the old mill. In the process of planning for the Form Factory 1 expansion, a similar site assessment revealed that the mill’s old Stock Building, originally constructed in the 1920s, will soon need to be dismantled due to several overhead safety concerns.

The company plans to repurpose and preserve parts of the old Stock Building’s frame, both practically as part of its expansion plans and culturally as part of a larger effort to honor the mill’s legacy.

Much of the scrap steel from the building’s frame will be saved to create artwork and communal congregation spaces for employees in and around the factory in the future.

The Form Factory 1 lobby houses an exhibit, created in partnership with the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center, that displays archival photos, artifacts, and information from the site’s history.

“Working with the Form Energy team to help them create the exhibit was an honor for me as a historian and lifelong resident of Weirton,” said Paul Zuros, a Weirton native who helped curate the display within Form Factory 1. “Including the history of Weirton Steel in the new factory continues the legacy started by E. T. Weir on that site back in 1909. I have no doubt that as the Form Factory expands, they will continue to be thoughtful and intentional about the history of the site and our community.”

The exhibit also includes planters made out of scrap steel from the old mill site. These were made by a local carpenter whose father worked at Weirton Steel.

Form Energy selected Weirton for Form Factory 1 after screening 500 potential sites in 16 states, with in-person visits to 20 of the potential locations.

Within the plant, iron-air batteries, providing energy through the rusting and unrusting of iron, will be produced and shipped to customers across the nation. Designed to store approximately 100 hours of energy, the company has received interest from several utility providers even before the product is available.

Company officials also have indicated this 100-hour battery is only the first of many products being developed by Form Energy.