ACT-ion Opens Carrollton Battery Materials Pilot Plant

The pilot plant begins domestic production of cathode active materials used in electric vehicle batteries.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Electric Vehicles

Wide view of a plain industrial processing building with stainless steel reactor tanks and pipework beside a concrete yard under open Texas sky. — ACT-ion Battery Technologies opened a pilot plant in Carrollton, Texas, to produce cathode active materials for electric vehicle batteries domestically. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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ACT-ion Battery Technologies celebrated the grand opening of its pilot plant at 1200 Tappan Circle in Carrollton, Texas, which is fully commissioned and produces cathode active materials in the United States. The facility uses the company's ACT-ivate process to make these materials from lower-cost domestic inputs.

Why it matters

Cathode active material accounts for about 50 percent of battery cell production costs, depending on chemistry, and the plant reduces reliance on offshore supply. For Carrollton and the wider Dallas area, the facility adds domestic battery materials production to the regional economy.

The facility increases the company's capacity 10 times, to 20 tons per annum. In 2025, about 85 percent of the world's cathode active material used in electric car batteries was produced offshore, and the source does not specify commercial-scale timing.

The players

ACT-ion Battery Technologies

A Dallas, Texas-based company developing domestic cathode active material production using its ACT-ivate process.

U.S. Department of Energy

The federal agency whose AMMTO and VTO offices continue to support the pilot plant scale-up.

The details

ACT-ion's pilot plant uses its proprietary ACT-ivate process, which has been demonstrated across lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) materials and earned the R&D 100 Award in 2024. The U.S. Department of Energy's AMMTO and VTO continue to support the pilot plant scale-up.

November 3, 2026: Grand opening of the Carrollton pilot plant celebrated.
2024: ACT-ivate process earned the R&D 100 Award.
2025: About 85 percent of EV cathode material was produced offshore.

Roadmap

The Carrollton plant extends the ACT-ivate process from demonstrated LFP and NCM chemistries into domestic pilot-scale production. It addresses the reliance on offshore cathode material that supplies about 85 percent of EV battery cathode material worldwide.

Domestic cathode production could affect the cost and availability of materials used in EV batteries, which account for about 50 percent of battery cell production costs. Buyers may see the effects over time as the plant scales beyond its pilot stage.

The takeaway

Domestic cathode production shifts part of the EV battery supply chain closer to U.S. manufacturers. Readers tracking electric vehicle costs can watch whether pilot-scale output moves toward commercial production.