Hemp Battery Startup’s Hyped $1 Billion Vision Quietly Disappears in Wisconsin

A hyped $1 billion hemp battery initiative in Wisconsin has apparently been abandoned, leaving two cities—and hundreds of displaced battery workers—empty-handed after more than two years of planning, promotion, and public support.

Wisconsin Battery Co., which had promised to replace jobs lost from Energiser plant closures in Portage and Fennimore, has gone “completely off the radar,” according to Grant County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Ron Brisbois. “I’ve heard nothing from them in 2025,” Brisbois told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.

The company, led by CEO Jeff Greene, first gained attention in 2023 with ambitious claims it would build hemp carbon batteries that would outperform lithium-based alternatives, reduce environmental impact, and establish Portage as a manufacturing hub for next-generation energy storage. The plan was to use hemp bast fiber to create rechargeable and consumer-grade batteries, beginning with hearing aids and moving eventually into electric vehicle (EV) and industrial markets.

Failed grant

But the plans suffered a critical setback in January when the U.S. Department of Energy denied Greene’s request for a $50 million battery manufacturing grant. While the DOE was slated to give out $3 billion for battery manufacturing and recycling operations in 2025, the Trump administration froze and cut billions in DOE grants —including battery-related programs—effectively derailing many clean energy projects.

Nonetheless, Greene continued to actively promote the project, appearing before the Portage City Council later in January to reiterate his plans – this time based on private financing. He also indicated he was pursuing state funding and tax credits.

According to SWNews4U, Greene had asked the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to assist in preparing a federal grant application. But Lydia McLimans, who oversees grant writing for the Commission, told the outlet: “Jeff Greene did ask me to write a grant on their behalf, which we declined to do based on our research of the grant that led us to believe his proposal didn’t meet the grant requirements.”

In addition to industrial manufacturing ambitions, Greene had also floated a plan to open a packaging and small-assembly plant in Fennimore, eyeing a vacant Family Dollar building as a starting point. He later suggested he might buy or lease the neighboring World of Variety building as well. Neither of those plans came to fruition. The Family Dollar building remains empty and available for purchase or lease, while the World of Variety property has been acquired and is to open as a hardware store later this year.

$1 billion dream

At the peak of the hype in early 2024, Greene said the company aimed to raise $1 billion over three to five years. Wisconsin Battery secured an option to buy 17 acres of city-owned industrial park land in Portage for $1, and Portage city officials considered authorising $20 million in federal industrial revenue bonds to support facilities in both cities.

Wisconsin Battery pledged to create 60–70 initial jobs, with a vision of scaling to 600 employees over six years. Greene claimed the company had been in contact with union representatives for Energiser’s former workforce and would repurpose the shuttered Energiser sites for hemp battery production.

Local leaders had been cautious but hopeful regarding the battery plant project. “They are a startup company, so we’re being very cautious about how we proceed,” Portage Mayor Mitchel Craig told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as details were announced in early 2024, while noting that the city had not invested money directly.

Due diligence?

That caution may have been warranted. Wisconsin Battery Co. is owned by Sustainable Communities Corp. (SCC), a 501(c)(4) entity led by Michael Sauvante, a self-described Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Sauvante has been linked to multiple failed ventures dating back decades.

According to a 2012 NBC Bay Area investigation, a U.S. bankruptcy judge found that Sauvante had repeatedly created shell corporations to bilk investors. A federal trustee described a pattern of starting companies, selling stock, transferring unproven technologies, and collapsing the operations before repeating the cycle.

In an email to HempToday, Sauvante wrote, in part: “With respect to WinBat (Wisconsin Battery), yes I launched it, but then turned the operations over to Jeff and never had anything to do with investors, politicians or others related to the company.”

Greene, who served SCC as a director and lobbyist in addition to his Wisconsin Battery role, also founded Natural Life Franchise Corp., a chain of CBD retail stores. In mid-2025, Greene quietly removed “CEO, Wisconsin Battery” from his LinkedIn profile.