Hardin County holds public hearing on proposed tax abatement for ACE Green Recycling

Hardin County Commissioners Court held a special public hearing Tuesday to receive public comment on an application by ACE Green Recycling Incorporated for a tax abatement on personal property — furniture, fixtures and equipment — for a proposed battery recycling facility in the Silsbee area.

The company representatives described the project as a phased effort that would begin with roughly $25 million in equipment for Phase 1, create about 65–70 local jobs initially and eventually expand to several hundred jobs as operations scale. "We plan to set up in phase 1 a $25,000,000 investment… and that will render about 70 jobs in phase 1," Teddy Brocato, CFO of ACE Green Recycling, told the court. Dr. Bipin Tiagi, the company’s chief technology officer, told commissioners the company’s process runs at room temperature and, in his words, produces no emissions.

The project matters to the county because it promises local employment and…