DECATUR, Ill. (WTVO) — A new center for transportation research is being created in Downstate Illinois.

A groundbreaking ceremony in Decatur on Wednesday was the next step to creating an electric vehicle (EV) innovation hub.

It is a partnership with TCCI, which makes EV components, specifically compressors, and Richland Community College, which will provide opportunities for its students.

This will be one of the first production facilities of its like in the U.S.

“Illinois’ clean energy and electric vehicle industries are on the rise, and these investments are lifting up our talented workforce and demonstrating to the world that Illinois is once again open for business, and we’re fast becoming the most promising state in the country to invest in,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said.

Pritzker also used Lion Electric in Joliet as an example. It opened the first new vehicle manufacturing plant in the Chicago region in more than half a century last month. It will be responsible for about 1,400 jobs.