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Kentucky and CSX Transportation can chalk up a $600 million battery cell plant in the win column. A non-profit consortium of 50 companies, associations and research institutions recently chose a Glendale, Ky., CSXT-served site for a 1,551-acre lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility.

The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries — which includes 3M, BASF and Procter & Gamble — selected the location over sites in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.

The consortium plans to build a 1 million-square-foot facility, including separate buildings for offices, engineering, quality assurance and production. The plant would produce battery cells for various vehicles.

Construction, which would take 12 to 18 months to complete, is contingent on the consortium obtaining federal stimulus funding. The Obama Administration has set aside $2 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for electric vehicle battery and component manufacturing projects, and supports the development of lithium-ion batteries.