DECATUR — Illinois is on track to be the “most promising state” in the nation for clean energy investments, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a stop in Decatur on Wednesday. 

Pritzker emphasized his administration’s dedication to clean energy at the groundbreaking of a new Electric Vehicle Innovation Hub at TCCI Manufacturing. The $45 million project will allow both research for manufacturers and training programs targeting the next generation of EV workers. 

“Not only will this new hub support the launch of one of the first made-in-America electric compressor manufacturing facilities, but it will also house the new Climatic Center for Innovation and Research, especially designed to push the bounds of possibilities in electric vehicles,” Pritzker said. 

A new, skilled workforce is necessary to push those boundaries, said TCCI President Richard Demirjian. 

“Together we will create a scalable workforce ecosystem with specialized programs and apprenticeships that will prepare individuals for fields of climate technology, electric vehicle manufacturing, and related energy and agricultural industries,” Demirjian said. 

TCCI has collaborated with Richland Community College, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northern Illinois University to establish articulation agreements for credit transfers for engineering and other programs. 

TCCI expects to have similar partnerships with Illinois State University, the University of Illinois at Springfield, Chicago State University and Governors State University by the time the hub opens in fall 2024.  

The collaboration between manufacturers and academic institutions means not only that manufacturers can help communicate what future workers need to know, but that colleges can help make the fast-growing green energy sector accessible to more people, said Richland Community College President Cris Valdez. 

“We know that this project will not be successful unless we have a trained workforce,” Valdez said. 

The college’s transfer agreements with certain state universities will “allow students to move out of poverty, to change their trajectory of their life, and to get things that help them to be productive citizens,” Valdez said. 

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is committed to helping students of all backgrounds enter the clean energy sector, said Chancellor Robert Jones.

“This partnership is a testament of my university’s commitment to improving access and affordability (for) students from across the career spectrum to take advantage of these opportunities presented by the emerging fields of electrification and clean energy," Jones said.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity awarded TCCI the first tax incentive package under the Reimagining Electric Vehicles Act in September. 

At the time, Pritzker cheered TCCI’s decision to expand and add new jobs locally instead of internationally, a sentiment he repeated on Wednesday.

“To Illinoisans everywhere, if you want to build a career in the electric vehicle and clean energy industries, you can start right here in the great city of Decatur," Pritzker said.

The governor was mum on when future REV credits might be awarded, but showed an overall positive outlook for the state’s economic future. 

“Illinois’ clean energy and electric vehicles industries are on the rise,” he said. “And these investments are lifting up our talented workforce and demonstrating to the world that Illinois is once again open for business.”