NILES — For its commitment to locate a next-generation electric vehicle battery-cell manufacturing plant in Lordstown, General Motors — which ended 53 years of automaking there in 2019 with the closure of its assembly plant — was recognized by the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber.

Given annually by the chamber, the Spirit of the Valley award spotlights work done by individuals or companies that positively affect the community.

This year it is GM, a 50-50 joint venture partner with South Korea’s LG Chem on Ultium Cells LLC, a $2.3 billion investment by the companies to build a plant to mass produce the battery cells.

The plant is the largest investment ever in the Mahoning Valley and is believed to be one of, if not the largest private investment in the U.S. in 2020. Construction of the 2.8 million-square-foot facility is happening in Lordstown with early phase production launch set for early 2022.

Locating it here puts the area at the head of a growing industry that’s not expected to slow, electric vehicles, as automakers shift focus in that direction.

The plant is expected to employ about 1,100 workers at full production.

“In addition, the positive ripple effect in the supply and service provider chains by companies that want to be close to and do business with the company will be significant as well as the employees’ engagement with our community,” Scott Grzelewski, chief operating officer of AVI Food Systems in Warren, said in his lead in to the award presentation Wednesday.

Also noted was GM’s support of electric truck company Lordstown Motors Corp., which bought the assembly plant intact with GM’s help for $20 million — a fraction of its worth — and the $12 million GM is investing in the Mahoning Valley for education, workforce development / training and infrastructure.

GM also has committed $75 million to Lordstown Motors.

Mark Reuss, GM’s president, accepted the award and made prerecorded video remarks.

“The community means a lot to us,” he said. “I have always felt a strong emotional bond to the Valley and I’m very happy our relationship will continue for many years to come.”

The decision to give GM an award was met with anger from some, including former officials with United Auto Workers Local 1112 like former president Dave Green, who called it a “smack in the face” to the former Lordstown GM workers and their families upheaved when GM closed the plant two years ago earlier this month.

The last GM model to roll off the production line in Lordstown, a Chevrolet Cruze, did so March 6, 2019. In November of that year, GM sold the plant to Lordstown Motors and in January 2020, announced it had selected 158 acres adjacent to the plant for the Ultium Cells plant.

There was a widespread local campaign, Drive It Home, that involved community and elected officials and the regional chamber to try to convince GM to walk back its closing decision. The effort, however, came up short.

With the closure, many of the assembly plant’s 1,500 workers left for other GM facilities and some got out of automaking, choosing another career instead or retiring. Some of those who left to stay with GM left behind their families. Others just picked up and moved everyone.

The $12 million investment is part of an agreement GM made with Ohio in January for breaking tax credit agreements it received in 2008 when it closed the assembly plant. The state also required GM to refund $28 million.

Also Wednesday, the chamber gave Eastern Gateway Community College and Kent State University at Trumbull and Youngstown State University the Spirit of the Chamber award for a collaborative program to promote and enhance interships at the chamber.

The event this year was at the new Eastwood Event Centre at the Eastwood Mall in Niles.