March 16 (Reuters) -

China's Gotion filed a lawsuit on Friday against

Green Charter Township in Michigan, citing breach of contract

over the connection of water lines to its planned $2.36 billion

battery component plant in the state.

Gotion's plant, located in Big Rapids, about 60 miles (97

km) north of Grand Rapids, was expected to create 2,350 jobs and

produce up to 150,000 tons of cathode material and 50,000 tons

of anode material a year.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in

Michigan, Gotion said the township reneged on its contractual

obligations after initially adopting a resolution approving the

company's plans to connect Big Rapids' water system to the

project.

Gotion is seeking a preliminary injunction from the court to

direct the township to connect the water lines to its plant.

"This Court should order the Township to comply with its

obligations under the parties' agreement," Gotion said in its

lawsuit.

The township did not immediately respond to a Reuters

request for comment.

The Biden administration's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act

required that electric vehicles be assembled in North America to

qualify for any tax credits. Automakers have since been racing

to source more battery and component production.

Gotion, a publicly traded company in China also known as

Guoxuan High-Tech Company, is partly owned by German automaker

Volkswagen AG.