THE US Energy Department said on Monday (Dec 2) it is planning to loan up to US$7.5 billion to a joint venture of Chrysler parent Stellantis and Samsung SDI to help build two electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion battery plants in Indiana.
The conditional commitment award must still be finalised and includes US$6.9 billion in principal and US$688 million in capitalised interest for the StarPlus Energy joint venture.
The venture will build batteries in Kokomo, Indiana, for Stellantis EVs and at full capacity will produce about 67 GWh of batteries, enough to supply approximately 670,000 vehicles annually, the Energy Department (DOE) said.
It is unclear whether the department will be able to finalise the low-cost government subsidised loan before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan 20. He has been critical of the Biden administration’s efforts to incentivise EV production.
Stellantis said on Monday the first plant would open in early 2025 and the second in 2027. On top of the two facilities announced in Indiana, Stellantis will build a gigafactory in Canada with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution.
DOE in July said it planned to award Stellantis US$334.8 million to convert its shuttered Belvidere Assembly Plant to build EVs and US$250 million to convert its Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo to produce EV components but it has not yet finalised the award.
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DOE is tapping the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan programme to boost the EV sector.
Last week, the Energy Department said it was proposing to loan Rivian up to US$6.6 billion to build a plant in Georgia to begin building smaller, less expensive EVs in 2028.
In December 2022, DOE finalised a US$2.5 billion low-cost loan to a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution to help pay for three new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan.
In June 2023, DOE said it planned to lend up to US$9.2 billion to a joint venture of Ford Motor and South Korea’s SK On to help it build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, the biggest-ever award from the government loan programme. The award still has not been finalised. REUTERS
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