Remember when there were detractors in high places of Form Energy’s Factory 1 in Weirton? Remember when there was a movement in the West Virginia Legislature in 2023 — one that ultimately failed — to claw back $105 million in appropriations for the factory in that year’s state budget?

What do they think now, that Form Energy just signed its first international agreement?

Fittingly on St. Patrick’s Day, Form announced it has signed an agreement with FuturEnergy Ireland to deploy a 10-megawatt, 1,000-megawatt-hour iron-air battery system in the northwest of Ireland.

The system, anticipated to begin manufacturing in 2028 and set to go online in 2029, will be built at Form Factory 1.

FuturEnergy Ireland CEO Peter Lynch lauded the partnership, while praising Form Energy.

“They have a very clear vision,” Lynch said. “They were far and away the best solution.”

Lynch also mentioned that this could be just the beginning of the partnership between the two companies.

“It should act as a gateway,” Lynch said. “It should be the first in a number of projects.”

This announcement follows the one made in February with Xcel Energy to help power a Google data center in Minnesota.

Form Energy is doing exactly what it said it was going to do when it announced it would build Factory 1 in the Northern Panhandle. It’s generating business and creating jobs. The Mountain State has been hamstrung with bad luck, near misses and empty promises over the years when it comes to economic development. It’s great to see a victory in that regard.

Hopefully, the momentum at Form continues, and it proves even further that the its decision to build in Weirton, and the state’s decision to support it, were great moves.