A Norwegian company that had been eyeing the Tri-Cities for a lithium-ion battery component production facility ended its agreement with the city of Richland in 2024.

In early 2024, Cenate had been considering both Richland and Butte, Montana, for the location of its first American factory. The company develops silicon-based nano composite for use in lithium-ion batteries, according to Cenate’s website. 

Richland’s city council had authorized the sale of a 50-acre site in the Advanced Clean Energy Park to the company for $3.75 million, the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reported in January 2024. Cenate had planned to develop a 40,000-square-foot facility on the land.

A decision was expected around mid-year, and it was in the late spring or early summer of 2024 when the company ended its agreement with the city, said Mandy Wallner, Richland’s economic development manager, in an email.

Karl Dye, president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council, said that things were taking longer than Cenate anticipated, and the company didn’t want to tie up the land with its timeline undecided.

“They ended their agreement with Richland. It’s our understanding that they did as well with the city of Butte, Montana,” Dye said. 

Cenate did not respond to requests for comment.

But the end of the agreement doesn’t mean that Cenate is gone for good.

“They parted from the deal due to internal reasons and hope to come back to the table (when) the timing is better for their business and technology,” Wallner said in an email to the Journal of Business. “This is often the case with some of these new start-up companies.”