TS Conductor Expands U.S. Manufacturing Efforts at New $134M South Carolina Facility
TS Conductor (TS) announced the grand opening of its newest manufacturing plant in Hardeeville, South Carolina, today. The Aluminum Encapsulated Carbon Core (AECC) plant, located in Jasper County, aims to scale U.S. domestic supply chains as utilities look to address grid modernization.
The California-based company says the new master-planned industrial park is just miles from the Port of Savannah. It will focus on producing advanced next-generation conductors, being the second U.S. manufacturing location under the TS umbrella alongside its plant in Huntington Beach, California.
TS adds that the beginning phase of its South Carolina expansion will increase AECC production capacity by up to 10 times compared to its plant in California. Capacity is reportedly expected to increase up to 20 times that amount at full buildout.
These efforts align with U.S. goals as officials work to keep pace with grid expansion to meet the needs of AI and data centers. AECC technology is described by TS as being capable of doubling or tripling the grid's transmission capacity compared to traditional ACSR conductors for safe and easy installation.
The company claims that ACSR, aluminum conductor steel reinforced, differs from AECC, which uses carbon fiber, a lighter material that can reduce sag and deliver more electrical capacity. TS says AECC can help reduce utilities' capital expenditures compared to modern advanced conductors while still offering grid operators the ability to add to their transmission capacity and avoid structural rebuilds.
"Expanding domestic production of high-performance conductors is a vital step toward ensuring our industry has the tools necessary to modernize the grid within existing rights-of-way,” said Tom Kuhn, former president and CEO of Edison Electric Institute, in a statement.
Kuhn added that TS’s efforts to strengthen the U.S. supply chain help utilities to accelerate capacity upgrades more affordably to meet the nation's evolving energy needs.
TS is reportedly receiving $28 million in financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Deployment Office (MDO) for phase one of the three planned phases in Hardeeville. TS says it’s investing $42 million in phase one with a total invesment of $134 million planned across all three phases of the Hardeeville expansion.
"I believe the opening of our Hardeeville facility marks a pivotal moment for the American energy landscape," said TS CEO Jason Huang, PhD, in a statement. "We believe AECC is central to the future of our nation's power architecture, and we are immensely proud to produce this world-leading technology right here in the United States."
