Georgia
Georgia Intelligence Report: Georgia Digs In On EVs & Clean Energy: Supply chains cluster around billion-dollar investments.
ast fall, the small town of Metter, Georgia, scored an atypically large investment — $35 million — from a foreign automotive supplier that’s since broken ground on a manufacturing plant there. It took but five months before Metter inked a second such manufacturing project of generational proportions.
Combined, the two projects — from the South Korean automotive suppliers DAS and Doowon — represent capital expenditures of $65 million and 500 new jobs landing in a town of fewer than 4,000 citizens an hour west of Savannah.
Huge investments in clean energy and electric transportation are coming to lots of Georgia towns with names you’ve never heard. Gov. Brian Kemp has taken to calling Georgia “the e-mobility capital of the world.” There’s not a corner of the state that hasn’t been touched.
Anovion, a maker of EV battery materials, is pumping $800 million into a plant being built in Bainbridge. SK Battery is down for $2.6 billion — and 3,000 jobs — in Commerce. Rivian plans to bring 7,500 jobs to Social Circle. Sewon, another in a veritable parade line of South Korean EV suppliers, is investing $300 million and creating 740 jobs in Rincon. Black Creek, Cartersville, Richmond Hill, Newnan, Dublin, Locust Grove, Toccoa and Kingsland are among the Georgia enclaves taking on EV-related projects that need at least 100 workers.
Qcells Makes Record Commitment
As this promised EV ecosystem continues to fill in with investments now exceeding $23 billion, less noticed but not to be forgotten is Georgia’s massive foothold in solar manufacturing. South Korea’s Qcells, which opened the Western Hemisphere’s largest solar panel facility in Dalton in 2019, now accounts for some 40% of U.S. solar panel capacity at that original site and an adjacent facility. Last year, Qcells announced a $2.5 billion expansion of its Georgia footprint, the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the U.S., according to both state and federal officials.
“This news,” said Qcells CEO Justin Lee in a statement, “is further evidence of our growing partnership with Georgia, the workforce there, and an even brighter future together.”
Expanding out of Dalton, Qcells is building a manufacturing facility at a state-certified site in Cartersville, less than an hour northwest of Atlanta on I-75. The Cartersville plant, the company says, will manufacture 3.3 gigawatts annually of solar ingots, wafers, cells and finished panels. In October, Qcells announced the completion of the expansion’s Dalton phase, bringing the full factory’s output to more than 5.1 GW, and, the company said in a statement, “the first solar panel expansion since the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act.” As that sprawling federal support fund continues to back clean energy projects across the state, officials of the Kemp administration point out that Qcells put down billion-dollar roots in Georgia long before the IRA.
“Out of all the places Qcells could have gone,” Gov. Kemp said in a statement. “They chose to operate and expand here in Georgia because of our unrivaled assets and the competitive package we put together.”
Hyundai’s Expanding Reach
Without doubt, though, the jewel in Georgia’s clean energy crown is Hyundai’s ahead-of-schedule and already expanding Metaplant America near Savannah, and the fertile jobs ecosystem that has sprung up to supply it. Trip Tollison, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), likes to point out that it’s only been two years since Hyundai officials first visited the site in Bryan County (see Site Selection, March 2023), to which they’ve now pledged investments totaling some $7.5 billion. Construction of the plant is moving forward at a ruthless clip.
“When you go out there and see what they’ve accomplished in such a short time, it’s pretty freaking amazing,” Tollison says.
Connected to the Metaplant by the increasingly busy I-16, Metter lies within Hyundai’s expanding radius of suppliers. It’s 45 minutes to the west.
“Looking ahead to future expansion prospects, we deemed Metter to be an ideal location thanks to its close proximity to Metaplant America,” said Sen Kim, CEO of DAS, announcing the company’s $35 million, 300-job project in September. Doowon Climate Control America, announcing its $30 million, 200-job project in February, said it will funnel parts from Metter to both Hyundai and Kia, Georgia’s other big automaker. Farther west still on I-16, South Korea’s Hwashin, another parts maker, announced plans in October for a $176 million manufacturing plant that’s bringing 460 jobs to Dublin. In all, SEDA counts 17 Hyundai suppliers in the process of building out in Georgia.
“If you add up what Hyundai and all its suppliers are doing,” says Tollison, “it is a 15,000-job project with a $10 billion investment.”
New Nuclear in Waynesboro
When Georgia Power’s Vogtle Unit 3 entered commercial operation in July, its inauguration marked the completion of the country’s first newly constructed nuclear unit in more than 30 years. A companion Unit 4, its control room shown here, is expected to power up this spring, with the two reactors projected to produce a combined 2,200 MW of carbon-free electricity, enough to power 1 million homes.
Despite years of delays and significant cost overruns, supporters of the project, including Gov. Brian Kemp, hail the emerging new power source as a central component of Georgia’s efforts to recruit clean energy jobs.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Power
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Carolina Panthers and Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King agreed to an undrafted free-agent contract at the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft. The deal includes $250,000 in guaranteed money, according to a league source.
King was known for being a human wrecking ball of a quarterback, putting his body at risk for the team’s sake, with the endorsement of his coaches. It worked great in college, turning Georgia Tech from a losing program to a Top-25 team. He passed for 2,951 yards and ran for 953 in his final season, finishing second among power-conference quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns with 15.
But it would be a very hard style to replicate in the NFL. King, at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, does have good throwing abilities, averaging 9.9 yards per attempt over his three seasons as Georgia Tech’s starter. So his overall passing numbers may have been higher if he didn’t run it so much (520 carries over those three years.)
King is also 25, after six years in college (three at Georgia Tech, three at Texas A&M), so he’s not much of a developmental guy. But his skill set is so unique, and his intangibles so good, that he offers intrigue on the pro level.
‘The Beast’ breakdown
King ranked No. 231 overall, and as the No. 9 quarterback, on Dane Brugler’s top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
“King needs to see things much clearer and faster to make it at the NFL level, but his competitive toughness, dual-threat skill set and diligence as a worker give him a chance to become an NFL backup.”
How he fits
Dan Morgan started the offseason by saying the Panthers would be open to bringing in backup quarterbacks who could make plays with their arms and their feet. Enter King, who in 2024 became the first player to finish with at least 2,000 passing yards and 10 or more TD passes, with a 70 completion percentage and two or fewer interceptions. King then topped it by winning the ACC Player of the Year in 2025, finishing as the only Power 4 quarterback with five games of 100-plus yards both passing and rushing.
Depth chart impact
King will start at the bottom of what is suddenly a crowded quarterback depth chart after the Panthers traded Andy Dalton and brought in Kenny Pickett, Will Grier and King. Pickett is the clear No. 2, while King will compete for the third spot with Grier, a third-round pick of the Panthers in 2019 who returned to his hometown team this week. Starting with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, King will be fun to watch in preseason games, which often feature younger quarterbacks scrambling for big plays.
Fast evaluation
Because of King’s skill set and what Morgan said in January, I had him coming to Carolina in the sixth round in my last Panthers mock. Canales doesn’t like to use Young on quarterback sneaks. That could be a role for the 6-2, 211-pound King in a Taysom Hill-type package. The Panthers value versatile players across their roster. Now they have one at quarterback.
The Bengals used the final pick of the fourth round on Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young, who might have gone higher than No. 140 overall if not for an off-the-field red flag.
“I think Colbie is just an outstanding complement [to the receivers the Bengals have],” coach Zac Taylor said, via a livestream from the team. “Fortunate to get him in the fourth round. We obviously had a higher value on him than where we actually got him. I just think he’s a great target for Joe [Burrow], great catch radius. Can use him in a lot of different ways.”
Young missed nine games to end the 2024 season after his arrest on misdemeanor charges of battery and assault on an unborn child. He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct in January 2025 after his accuser recanted her statement, and the initial charges were dropped.
Young served 12 months’ probation, paid a $500 fine and attended a family violence intervention program.
Taylor said the team did its “due diligence” and that “if we didn’t feel comfortable, we wouldn’t have done it.”
“Just talking to all the humans we talked to that really stood on the table for him, and Georgia returned him to play,” Taylor said. “So Georgia went through the whole process, returned him to play. So just felt really comfortable with the person we’re adding to our locker room, the person we’re adding to our community. Just all of us getting to know the kid. Just feel really, really comfortable with bringing Colbie in here.”
Young fractured his left fibula and tore a ligament, which required surgery and sidelined him for six games last season. He finished his final college season with 26 receptions for 358 yards and a touchdown.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette with the 85th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. It is their second pick in the third round, using their first (No. 76 overall) on Penn State quarterback Drew Allar.
Everette is one of the fastest players in the draft, running a 4.38 40 at the NFL Combine. Additionally, he had a RAS (Real Athletic Score) of 9.89/10. He had five interceptions in his career with the Bulldogs.
The Steelers’ cornerback room is now as deep as any in the NFL. Along with Joey Porter Jr, Pittsburgh re-signed Asante Samuel Jr and signed Jamel Dean in free agency. They also have Brandin Echols, who was productive in 2025. Everette now joins that group with the hopes of him becoming a solid contributor, but without the pressure of needing to get a big snap count right away.
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