RICHMOND HILL ― The nickel in your pocket is worth 5 cents. Nickel, the refined metal, is much more precious, especially in the age of electric vehicles.
A nickel refinery is the rare missing link in Georgia’s robust EV supply chain that already includes vehicle assembly lines, battery plants and parts factories. But an effort to close that loop and manufacture the lightweight, power-enhancing metal that is a primary component in EV batteries at a coastal Georgia facility has stalled out like an EV that’s run out of juice.
A nickel refinery planned for the same county that is home to Hyundai’s EV assembly plant and soon-to-open battery factory has met with backlash since its public unveiling last month. On Tuesday, the Development Authority of Bryan County board voted to notify the refiner, Westwin Elements, that it would decline all requests for incentives and development bond issuances going forward.
The decision doesn’t block Westwin from converting a manufacturing facility formerly home to Caesarstone, a quartz countertop maker, into its refinery. The company could still purchase the vacant site and set up its operations, provided it stays within the current zoning regulations.
Westwin had not responded to multiple requests for an interview or comment from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as of Wednesday morning. In a statement issued to The Current, a coastal Georgia online news outlet, the company’s CEO said she is “focused on progressing our project in Richmond Hill.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
While Westwin had said in a letter to the Bryan County Commission that its project enjoyed broad community support, commissioners and hundreds of residents had spoken out against the proposal in recent meetings. The development authority’s vote aligns with the outpouring of opposition.
Opponents cited concerns about Westwin’s refining process using nickel carbonyl, considered among the most toxic chemicals used in industry, and frustration over what critics have said is secrecy and misinformation surrounding the project.
“The risks are too high,” said Bryan Commissioner Gene Wallace, who represents the district home to Westwin’s desired site.
What is Westwin?
Westwin launched in 2022 to develop America’s first nickel refinery, the same year the U.S Geological Survey added nickel to its “critical minerals” list.
Nickel is not a so-called rare earth mineral — it is among the five most common elements in the world, in fact. But it is sourced largely outside U.S. borders, with China producing about 60% of the global supply of refined nickel.
Enter KaLeigh Long, a then-27-year-old entrepreneur who’d previously launched ventures in advertising, real estate and subscription-based meat delivery. She sensed opportunity as projected demand for nickel skyrocketed, sparked by then-President Joe Biden’s clean energy agenda to help combat climate change and his administration’s embrace of EV manufacturing.
Long founded Westwin and framed it as a patriotic venture meant to cut American manufacturing’s dependence on foreign-sourced minerals. She reportedly raised $60 million in seed capital from investors and constructed a 50,000-square-foot demonstration plant near Lawton, Oklahoma. The state’s governor, Republican Kevin Stitt, spoke at the ground breaking.
Westwin’s initial objective was to perfect the refining process and attract additional investment ahead of opening a commercial-scale refinery, either by expanding the Oklahoma site or moving elsewhere. The demo facility began operations in August 2024.
But reports and court documents show Westwin met with production and legal problems early and faced loud opposition from Lawton-area residents. The refinery fell short of its hiring commitment, the centerpiece of most government incentives packages, and was deemed in breach of the development agreement.
The Lawton Economic Development Authority is currently seeking repayment of most of a $3 million loan to the company.
At the same time, Westwin scouted new homes for its commercial refinery. Georgia’s emergence as an EV manufacturing hub with three large-scale battery plants — one open in Commerce and two under construction in Bryan County and Bartow County — made the state attractive.
Credit: SK Battery America
Credit: SK Battery America
The vacant Caesarstone countertop manufacturing facility, located along I-95 about 20 minutes south of Savannah and 30 minutes from the Hyundai Metaplant, apparently fit Westwin’s space needs.
The refiner first contacted the Development Authority of Bryan County last spring and dubbed their proposed refinery Project Patriot, a nod to President Donald Trump’s America First policy positions around natural resources. Trump carried Bryan County with 68% of the vote in the 2024 election.
Bryan development authority board members soon identified what they labeled “red flags” in researching Westwin’s troubles in Oklahoma. Incentive package negotiations broke down, with one Bryan authority member responding to an email plea from Westwin by writing “what part of the word no don’t you understand.”
Still, Westwin pushed ahead with its development plans and in mid-January went public at a Bryan County Commission meeting. The fallout has consumed the community since.
What’s behind the concerns about nickel refining?
Westwin touts its nickel refining approach as a closed-loop process that produces zero liquid or solid waste. In layman’s terms, the company says nickel ore byproducts are subjected to high pressure to vaporize impurities, leaving behind high-purity nickel powder and briquettes that can be converted to solid metal.
The refiner has struggled to convey to the public the particulars of what is known as the Mond carbonyl process, despite it dating to the 1890s.
In a town hall last week, Long, the Westwin founder, downplayed the health risks should an accident cause nickel carbonyl, a liquid so poisonous it is often compared to cyanide, to escape into the atmosphere outside its factory. She couched the impact in the best-case weather and environmental conditions.
Long’s presentation drew widespread rebuke from those in attendance, including from Bryan County’s top elected official, Commission Chairman Carter Infinger. He noted the refinery site is 2 miles from a 10,000-home residential community, known as Heartwood at Richmond Hill, and 3 miles from a high school, middle school and elementary school complex.
Credit: Adam Van Brimmer
Credit: Adam Van Brimmer
Infinger has referenced Chernobyl, the 1986 nuclear disaster in what was then the Soviet Union, in talking about Westwin.
The day after the town hall, a coastal Georgia news outlet, The Current, reported Westwin has applied for an air pollution permit from the state. Long had omitted mentioning the application both in her remarks and in answering a question about what permits the refinery would require.
“The information that Westwin has provided is entirely inconsistent with the facts,” Bryan County attorney Aaron Kappler told the development authority board ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
That meeting included a public comment period, with dozens of attendees among the standing-room-only crowd voicing opposition to Westwin.
Wallace, the county commissioner who also sits on the development authority, delivered deeply personal remarks about his love for nature and the obligation he feels to protect the air and waters in his hometown.
“I hear things like, ‘The project is safe,’” he said. “It is until it’s not. And then it’s too late.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify China’s role and its market share in the nickel supply chain.
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