FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A battery manufacturer has selected Kentucky for a nearly $712 million project to produce industrial-sized batteries used to store and distribute energy, a process seen as increasingly important to help secure a reliable electric grid for the country, officials said Friday. The Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing plant will employ 1,572 workers once the project reaches full capacity, deepening Kentucky's ties to emerging battery technologies. Companies making batteries to power vehicles have announced projects totaling nearly $12 billion in new investments and expected to create more than 10,280 fulltime jobs in Kentucky.