Sparkz, a cobalt-free lithium-ion battery manufacturing startup, wants to hire displaced coal miners to staff a gigafactory it plans to build in West Virginia.

Sparkz will partner with the United Mine Workers to recruit and train 350 workers, the company announced. Groundbreaking for the facility is expected sometime this year…

At a meeting with Biden administration officials at the White House last year, Sanjiv committed to manufacturing electric vehicle components in Appalachia. The startup aims to reduce demand for battery components produced in China, which controls much of the world’s mine production for lithium-ion batteries.