Clayco, Inc., has filed a lien foreclosure lawsuit against the owner of a planned $1.6-billion electric vehicle battery production facility in South Carolina, claiming non-payment for work performed before the project was suspended more than a year ago.
Japan-based AESC broke ground in June 2023 on the initial 1.5-million-sq-ft manufacturing facility at a Florence, S.C., industrial park, with Clayco’s Greenville, S.C., office and Lamar Johnson Collaborative providing design-build services. Six months later, AESC announced that the project would be expanded to support expected growth in EV production at BMW’s nearby Spartanburg, S.C., assembly plant. Operations at the facility were to begin in 2027.
In June 2025, citing market and federal policy uncertainty that reportedly had slowed financing, AESC suspended the project with the facility approximately 75% complete. Despite AESC’s public statements that it remains committed to resuming construction, the project remains idled.
A Clayco spokesperson says that while AESC has made partial payments on the more than $1 billion of work in place, a balance of $26.2 million is still due to the construction team.
Clayco CEO Anthony Johnson said in a statement that its contract with AESC has not been terminated, nor has the firm received any complaints about its performance.
“AESC’s failure to honor its commitments has caused significant financial harm to subcontractors and Clayco, including substantial lost opportunities,” said Johnson, adding that the firm has used its own funds to pay its subcontractors in full, including demobilization costs, to protect the project and the construction community. “We intend to recover every dollar owed through all available legal remedies.”
AESC did not respond to ENR’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, the City of Florence has completed water and sewer upgrades at the industrial park that were intended to support the AESC manufacturing complex. Local officials have expressed hope that the new infrastructure will attract other businesses to the area should the AESC project be scaled back or canceled.
