Form Energy says Yes to West Virginia

February 24, 2026 - Form Energy is transforming a former steel town into an advanced manufacturing hub.

Founded in 2017, the company aims to reshape the global electric grid through a new category of inexpensive, multi-day energy storage systems. Its first commercial-scale battery manufacturing facility is located in Weirton, West Virginia, at the site of the former Weirton Steel plant. 

“You have to remember we’re an old steel town,” said Weirton Mayor Dean Harris, adding that people who have left Weirton and then come back to visit are shocked at the sight of the beautiful, well-lit building occupying the site of the old steel mill.

“To me the lights symbolize the change that’s going on in this community and that change is giving people hope,” Harris said.

Form Energy’s first commercial product is an iron-air battery system that can store and discharge energy for up to 100 hours.

“So why iron air? It’s very low cost. And with that low cost point we can get much longer duration than anything that’s out there,” CEO and co-founder Mateo Jaramillo said. 

Form Energy’s battery system is a sustainable and safe solution designed to meet the increasing need for grid security and reliability. In contrast to lithium-ion, which can only deliver energy for a few hours due to its high relative cost, iron-air batteries can sustain energy delivery for multiple days.

Form Factory 1 in Weirton employs over 400 people and has plans to expand and hire several hundred more workers–a success made possible with support from the West Virginia Division of Economic Development.

“We would never have known what was here, what the options were, what the possibilities were,” Jaramillo said. “It takes a special group to take a look at this kind of site that requires a lot of work, frankly, and see the vision of what it could be.”

WVDED Business Retention and Expansion Manager Jennifer Rohrig said she appreciates the new facility on both a personal and professional level.

“Every time I drive by and see this building I get goosebumps. I think it’s incredible what they have done on what was essentially a brownfield,” Rohrig said. “And it gives me the opportunity, when a company is looking to come to West Virginia, to show them what Form has built, what they have done here and help them pull out that vision for their own company.”

Form Factory 1 Manufacturing Supervisor Ray Larkey attributes the manufacturer’s success in part to West Virginia’s sense of community.

“The state in its strength and beauty resonates with the people that live here,” Larkey said. “You have strong, beautiful people that care about one another–not only here at Form but in the city of Weirton. It’s rare that you find someone that’s not willing to go out of their way to help somebody, and that’s West Virginia.”

Form Energy says #YesWV because of the state’s continued support throughout its progression in West Virginia, from the factory’s construction in Weirton to launching production and sending out its first products to a customer.

“It’s been a phenomenal pathway for us and the state has been with us every single step of the way,” Jaramillo said.

Source: Form Energy says Yes to West Virginia - West Virginia Division of Economic Development Website